23-year old righty starting pitcher Tommy Hunter started this season on the D.L. as he injured himself in spring training. He then had a long rehab process. But he’s back with the vengeance for the Rangers. He has started 5 games this season for the Rangers and he is 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. In his last two years with the Rangers, Hunter has pitched in 24 games (all starts) in which he is 13-6 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. The sky is the limit for Hunter if he can just stay healthy.

39-year old lefty reliever Darren Oliver and 27-year old righty reliever Darren O’Day have been putting a lot of zeroes on the scoreboard for the Rangers this season. Oliver has pitched in 32 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this season and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 1.27 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. He has only given up 21 hits in 35 1/3 innings while whiffing 40 batters and only walking 7! Those are amazing numbers and the Rangers think he can keep up the good work. O’Day has pitched in 33 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this season and he is 3-2 with a 1.84 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He has only given up 21 hits and walked 5 batters in 29 1/3 innings for the Rangers this season. Oliver and O’Day have been dominating usually working in the 6th and 7th innings to set things up for Frank Francisco and Neftali Feliz at the end of games.

The Rangers have released 34-year old righty swinging catcher Toby Hall. Hall only played in 1 game (in Rookie Ball) for the Rangers this year and he was 0 for 2 (.000 avg) with 1 RBI. This could be the end of his major league career as he still has a bum shoulder. Hall has played in 686 games in his nine years in the majors and he is 616 of 2,350 (.262 avg, .671 OPS) with 211 runs scored, 46 homers and 269 RBIs.

28-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler got off to a late start this year due to a ankle injury but he’s still not looking like himself in the field. He has played in 43 games for the Rangers this season and he is 44 of 160 (.275 avg, .732 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Kinsler was outstanding last season for the Rangers in which he played in 144 games and was 143 of 566 (.253 avg, .814 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 31 homers, 86 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. The Rangers have played well this season without the real Ian Kinsler. So if the real Kinsler shows up soon look for the Rangers to really get rolling.

29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Josh Hamilton had a year to forget in 2009 for the Rangers. He played in 89 games for the Rangers last season in which he was 90 of 336 (.268 avg, .741 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 10 homers, 54 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Hamilton has been on fire with the bat this season. He has played in 61 games for the Rangers this year and he is 75 of 243 (.309 avg, .934 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 15 homers, 46 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Rangers need Hamilton to stay healthy on the field and sober off of it as he had relapse last season which could have led to him having an off year.

The Rangers have placed 28-year old righty starting pitcher Rich Harden on the 15-day disabled list with a gluteal strain. Harden has started 13 games this season and he is 3-3 with a 5.68 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He has walked 43 batters and he has given up 14 homers in only 65 innings this season. Harden has whiffed 59 batters this season so the stuff is there but he needs to stay healthy, throw more strikes and keep the ball down in the strike zone to succeed. The Rangers have called up 26-year old righty reliever Alexi Ogando to replace Harden on the pitching staff. Ogando has pitched in 18 games (3 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year and he is 0-0 with 1 save, a 2.05 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. Ogando has only allowed 14 hits in 30 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 42 batters as he has been incredible in AAA. The Rangers hope he will be able to help them out in the bullpen.

The Rangers have traded 29-year old righty reliever Jailen Peguero to the Astros for future considerations. Peguero has pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball this year and he is 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He has walked 18 batters in only 24 innings this season which negates his 24 whiffs. He has pitched in 25 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 1-0 with a 7.50 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. Whatever the Astros get back for Peguero will likely be worth it.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Scott Feldman looked like a pitcher ready to break out in 2009. In 2009, Feldman pitched in 34 games (31 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 17-8 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. But this season Feldman is pitching a lot of batting practice. He has started 12 games for the Rangers this year and he is 3-6 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. He has given up 90 hits (9 homers) in only 70 2/3 innings this year. He could even be in danger of losing his spot in the starting rotation if he doesn’t improve soon.

Lefty swinging outfielder Rusty Greer was one of the better hitters in team history for the Texas Rangers despite his career getting cut short due to injuries. From 1996-1999, Greer played in 598 games for the Rangers in which he was 723 of 2,297 (.315 avg) with 422 runs scored, 80 homers, 396 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Greer played in 1,027 games in nine years with the Rangers and he was 1,166 of 3,829 (.305 avg, .865 OPS) with 643 runs scored, 119 homers, 614 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. Greer is #10 all-time in games played (1,027) in Rangers’ history. He is also #8 in hits (1,166), #5 in batting average (.305), #7 in OPS (.865), #6 in runs scored (643), #7 in RBIs (614), #5 in doubles (258) and he is tied with Rafael Palmeiro for 7th in triples with 25. Greer was one of the most underrated hitters in baseball when he was with the Rangers.

24-year old lefty swinging 1B Chris Davis is getting back on track in AAA for the Rangers. He has played in 35 games in AAA this year and he is 41 of 140 (.293 avg, .828 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 5 homers and 29 RBIs. With Justin Smoak struggling with the Rangers in his first taste of the majors Davis could get called back up soon. Davis played in 15 games earlier this year for the Rangers and he was 9 for 48 (.188 avg, .556 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. The worst part about Davis earlier this year was his whiffing (17 times) which happens way too often. Still, if Davis is hitting a lot of bombs the Rangers would put up with the whiffs.