The Rangers have placed 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Nelson Cruz on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring. Cruz has played in 32 games for the Rangers this year and he is 35 of 107 (.327 avg, 1.134 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Rangers have called up 26-year old righty swinging Craig Gentry to replace Cruz on the roster. He has played in 9 games for the Rangers earlier this year and he was 3 of 14 (.214 avg, .481 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 stolen base.

23-year old switch hitting 1B Justin Smoak is having a rough time against major league pitching. He came into this season as the Rangers’ #2 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America so they don’t want to damage his confidence. Smoak has played in 33 games for the Rangers this year and he is 18 of 108 (.167 avg, .583 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 12 RBIs. Smoak has whiffed only 22 times so he is hitting the ball but he’s not making enough consistent hard contact. I don’t see the Rangers keeping Smoak around much longer if he can’t hit his own weight so Chris Davis might get another chance soon for the Rangers.

It appears that the White Sox and Rangers have been talking about a trade involving A.J. Pierzynski. Pierzynski’s will be a 10/5 player in early June so the White Sox will likely speed up trying to deal him. That means the Rangers could probably get him for Taylor Teagarden and either Doug Mathis or Dustin Nippert. I would make the trade if I were running the Rangers as catcher has been a black hole for the team so far this season and Pierzynski would be a nice upgrade at a very reasonable price.

35-year old righty swinging DH Vladimir Guerrero is flat killing the baseball this season for the Rangers. He has played in 41 games for the Rangers this season and he is 54 of 158 (.342 avg, .923 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 9 homers, 35 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Guerrero still swings at everything as he has only whiffed 16 times while walking 7 times. Guerrero is a oddity as a hitter because one would think that a hitter like him wouldn’t have a good batting average but he always has. You can bounce the ball up to the plate and Vlad can still whack it into the outfield which is something I have seen him do. He is flat my favorite batter in baseball to watch swing.

23-year old righty reliever/starter Tanner Scheppers is on the fast track to Arlington. He came into this season as the Rangers’ #4 prospect according to Baseball America and he’s showing why in the minors. He has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this season and he is 0-0 with 3 saves, a 1.06 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP. He only gave up 8 hits in 17 innings this season while whiffing 28 batters showing just how nasty he has been. He has pitched in 13 games (4 starts) in his two years in the minors and he is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Scheppers is a great looking pitcher who could probably help the Rangers right now if they gave him a call but he will probably have to wait until later in the year.

The Rangers have placed 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Matt Harrison on the 15-day disabled list with left biceps tendinitis. He has started 6 games for the Rangers this season and he is 1-1 with a 5.29 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Harrison is open to pitch out of the bullpen when he gets healthy if Derek Holland pitches well while he is out of action. Holland has started 6 games in AAA-ball so far this season and he is 4-1 with a 0.93 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He has whiffed 37 batters in 38 2/3 innings this season in the minors showing that his stuff and command have been outstanding. Holland got his first taste of the majors last year with the Rangers when he pitched in 33 games (21 starts) in which he was 8-13 with a 6.12 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Rangers think he’s going to pitch way better than that this time around.

29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Josh Hamilton is looking like he’s getting back to the player he was a couple of years ago for the Rangers. He has played in 28 games for the Rangers this year and he is 32 of 108 (.296 avg, .909 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers and 17 RBIs. Hamilton really started stepping up when Nelson Cruz went down to injury. The Rangers hope that Hamilton keeps up the good work so the Rangers’ offense can continue hitting the ball better.

25-year old switch hitting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia only played in 2 games for the Rangers this season in which he was 1 for 5 (.200 avg) with 1 RBI before hurting his back. But he has been outstanding on his rehab assignment. Saltalamacchia has played in 11 games in AAA ball so far this season and he is 16 of 40 (.400 avg, 1.169 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 9 RBIs. The Rangers need to bring up Saltalamacchia as soon as possible because Matt Treanor and Max Ramirez aren’t getting the job done behind the plate.