The Rangers have placed 2B/SS Joaquin Arias on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain. Arias has played in 17 games for the Rangers this season and he was 17 of 53 (.321 avg, .711 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He did a solid job subbing for Ian Kinsler but the Rangers are glad to have their starting 2B back in action. Kinsler played in 3 games in AA-ball on a rehab assignment and he was 3 for 9 (.333 avg, .750 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He played in 144 games last season for the Rangers and he was 143 of 566 (.253 avg, .814 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 31 homers, 86 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. Look for Kinsler to give the Rangers’ offense a much needed jolt.

The Rangers have sent 26-year old righty swinging catcher Taylor Teagarden to AAA and he earned the trip. Teagarden played in 10 games for the Rangers this season and he was 1 for 27 (.037 avg, .225 OPS) with 3 runs scored and a amazing 17 whiffs. I don’t see Teagarden getting back to Texas any time soon. The Rangers have recalled 25-year old righty swinging Max Ramirez from AAA to replace Teagarden on the roster. He was the Rangers’ #11 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. The Rangers almost traded Ramirez to the Red Sox over the winter for 3B/1B Mike Lowell but he failed his physical due to a bum thumb. Ramirez played in 14 games in AAA this season to start the year and he was 13 of 49 (.265 avg, .671 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 4 RBIs. I think the Rangers will probably start him a lot more often than Matt Treanor behind the plate. Treanor has played in 11 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 9 for 36 (.250 avg, .703 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs.

The Rangers have placed starting RF Nelson Cruz on the 15-day disabled list with a right hamstring strain. Cruz has played in 19 games this season and he is 20 of 62 (.323 avg, 1.177 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 7 homers, 17 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. With the way Cruz is hitting right now he is simply not replaceable. David Murphy will take over as the starting RF for the Rangers until Cruz is ready to return to action. Murphy has played in 15 games this season for the Rangers and he is 5 for 29 (.172 avg, .546 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. Murphy is way better than he has shown so far this season as he has a career batting average of .278 with a .801 OPS coming into this year in 302 games. Murphy doesn’t have Cruz’ speed or power but that doesn’t change the fact that he is a pretty good baseball player himself.

24-year old lefty swinging CF Julio Borbon burst onto the scene last summer for the Rangers. He played in 46 games for the Rangers last season and he was 49 of 157 (.312 avg, .790 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 4 homers, 20 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. That performance last season had the Rangers’ front office excited as they penciled him in as the starting CF and leadoff hitter. But over the winter it appears as if pitchers watched a lot of tape on him as he looks helpless at the plate right now. Borbon has played in 15 games this season and he is 10 for 57 (.175 avg, .414 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 6 RBIs. He only has one extra base hit (a triple) and he has 4 stolen bases. The Rangers gave a quick hook to Chris Davis this season and they might do the same to Borbon if he doesn’t start hitting soon.

The Rangers got tired of watching Chris Davis struggle so they decided to send him to AAA. The 24-year old lefty swinging 1B has played in 15 games for the Rangers this season and he is 9 for 48 (.188 avg, .556 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. The Rangers would put up with Davis’ style of hitting (17 whiffs this year) if he was providing power but he isn’t. Hopefully he’ll get himself turned around again like last season after spending some time in AAA. 23-year old switch hitting Justin Smoak is the Rangers #2 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. This will be his first chance at the majors and the Rangers need him to be ready to roll from Day One. Smoak played in 15 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 15 for 50 (.300 avg, 1.010 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 5 RBIs. Smoak also was exhibiting great discipline in the minors this year as he walked 16 times while only whiffing 8 times. He has played in 135 games in his three years in the minors and he is 144 of 492 (.293 avg, .872 OPS) with 77 runs scored, 17 homers and 68 RBIs. Smoak doesn’t have the power potential of Chris Davis but he’s a better all around hitter and the Rangers need him to succeed or the offense as a whole is going to suffer.

The Rangers have lost 4 games in a row and they are not 5-7 which has them in last place in the A.L. West, 3 games behind the A’s. The Rangers have scored 46 runs and they have given up 46 runs this season. They are wasting solid pitching because they just aren’t hitting the ball and that shouldn’t be a problem for the Rangers looking at their batting order. The Rangers are heading to Boston to play three games against the struggling Red Sox and then they return home to play 3 games against the Tigers.

24-year old lefty starting pitcher Matt Harrison is looking really sharp so far this season. In his first two starts of the season for the Rangers he is 0-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Harrison has only given up 11 hits in 13 innings but more importantly he has only walked 2 batters. He has good enough stuff that if he just throws a lot of strikes he will have a good year.

26-year old righty swinging catcher Taylor Teagarden moved into the starting lineup due to the injury to Jarrod Saltalamacchia and he has been pathetic at bat looking pretty darn hopeless. Teagarden has played in 7 games for the Rangers this season and he is 0 for 18 (.000 avg, .182 OPS) with 2 runs scored. The more troubling thing about Teagarden other than the factor that he doesn’t have a hit is that he has already whiffed a stunning 13 times this year. The Rangers better hope that Saltalamacchia rehabs quickly because that don’t exactly want to start Matt Treanor behind the plate either.

24-year old lefty swinging outfielder Julio Borbon is off to a rough start for the Rangers. In his first 9 games Borbon is 3 for 36 (.083 avg, .191 OPS) with 1 run scored, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He needs to adjust to what pitchers are doing to him or he is going to wind up back in AAA with David Murphy taking his spot. The Rangers love Borbon’s speed but it’s impossible for him to steal first base.

Many questioned whether the 35-year-old Vladimir Guerrero had anything left in the tank after he hit below .300 for the first time in his career and missed 62 games last season.  Well, so far in this young season Vlad looks like the Vlad from 5+ years ago.  He is 13/28 (.464 BA) in 7 games this season.  He also has 4 runs, 3 RBIs, and 1 homerun.  The Rangers need Guerrero to be productive this season if they want a chance at winning the AL West, and so far so good.  Obviously Guerrero won’t keep up at this pace, but it is definitely a great sign for the Rangers that he is producing right away this season.  The bigger question is whether or not he will stay healthy, since he has had a lot of injury problems over the past few seasons.  Still, it is good to see the free-swinging Vlad going strong early in the season.