Starting shortstop Elvis Andrus has been very consistent so far this year for the Rangers. He has played in 23 games so far in May and he is 25 for 90 (.278 avg, .642 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Andrus has now played in 47 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 49 for 186 (.263 avg, .645 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. The Rangers were hoping for Andrus to step up this year but he has pretty much been the same player in 2011 as he has been his whole career in the majors so far. He’s still a very solid all-around shortstop for the Rangers.

Righty closer John Wetteland came to the Rangers as a free agent in 1997 as the Yankees had to clear way for their new closer, Mariano Rivera. Wetteland pitched the last four years of his major league career with the Rangers and he worked in 248 games (0 starts) in which he was 20-12 with 150 saves, a 2.95 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He made it to 2 All-Star teams with the Rangers. His best work with the team came back in 1998. Wetteland pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Rangers in 1998 and he was 3-1 with 42 saves, a 2.03 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Wetteland retired on top as he was only 33 years old when he called it a career.

The Rangers have activated 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Josh Hamilton and 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Nelson Cruz off the D.L. Hamilton has played in 11 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 13 for 39 (.333 avg, .871 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Nelson Cruz has played in 30 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 23 for 105 (.219 avg, .741 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 7 homers, 18 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Rangers’ offense will be at full strength for the first time in quite a while starting tonight. The Rangers have placed 33-year old lefty swinging outfielder Endy Chavez on the 15-day disabled list due to a mild right hamstring strain. Chavez has played in 7 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 8 for 24 (.333 avg, .866 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 0 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

UPDATE: The Rangers have decided not to put Endy Chavez on the D.L. They have instead sent 1B Chris Davis to the minors.

25-year old lefty starting pitcher Matt Harrison has been on his A-Game so far this year for the Rangers. He has pitched in 9 games (all starts) for the Rangers so far this year and he is 4-4 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has given up 44 hits in his first 54 2/3 innings this year which is pretty impressive. Harrison has had control issues however as he has walked 26 batters this year. If Harrison finally learns to trust his stuff (which is pretty impressive), he can really improve as a pitcher and that’s what the Rangers hope happens. Harrison is just making the Rangers’ deal of Mark Teixeira even look better, as they also got starting shortstop Elvis Andrus and closer Neftali Feliz in that deal with the Braves back on July 31st, 2007.

25-year old lefty swinging 1B/OF Mitch Moreland burst onto the scene last year for the Rangers. He played in 47 games for the Rangers last year and he was 37 for 145 (.255 avg, .833 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 9 homers, 25 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Moreland also had a lot of key hits in the post-season for the Rangers last year. He came to spring training without a starting job, but, he was focused and won one at 1B. Moreland has played in 36 games so far this year for the Rangers and he is 33 for 114 (.289 avg, .889 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 5 homers and 12 RBIs. Moreland has also been playing some in the outfield due to the injuries to Nelson Cruz, Julio Borbon and Josh Hamilton. He has become a very important player for the Rangers and I look for that to continue in 2011.

The Rangers have placed 25-year old lefty swinging Julio Borbon on the 15-day disabled list due to left hamstring inflammation. Borbon has played in 32 games so far this year for the Rangers and he is 24 for 89 (.270 avg, .654 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers, 11 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Rangers have called up 33-year old lefty swinging Endy Chavez from AAA to replace Borbon on the roster. He will likely platoon the lefty swinging Chavez with the righty swinging Craig Gentry until Borbon gets back to health. Chavez has played in 30 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he was 39 for 128 (.305 avg, .798 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He last played in the majors back in 2009 with the Mariners. Chavez has played in 827 games in parts of 9 years in the majors and he is 605 of 2,237 (.270 avg, .679 OPS) with 289 runs scored, 19 homers, 180 RBIs and 87 stolen bases. Chavez will get the starts vs. righty starting pitchers with Gentry handling the lefties. Gentry has played in 4 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 2 for 8 (.250 avg, .583 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base.

32-year old righty swinging infielder Esteban German is off to a good start in AAA-ball for the Rangers in 2011. He has played in 29 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 37 for 125 (.296 avg, .826 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 2 homers, 17 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. German has now played in 1,114 games in his first 11 years in the minors and he is 1,293 of 4,335 (.298 avg, .798 OPS) with 833 runs scored, 42 homers, 487 RBIs and 425 stolen bases. Despite those pretty impressive numbers, German has never gotten a real shot to show what he can do in the majors. He has played in 398 games in parts of 9 years in the minors and he is 279 of 1,005 (.278 avg, .739 OPS) with 153 runs scored, 7 homers, 107 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. Maybe the Rangers will give German a call at some point in 2011 if the need arises and he keeps playing well.

Starting 2B Ian Kinsler isn’t hitting much lately after getting off to a fast start to the 2011 season. Kinsler is only 5 for 30 (.167 avg) in his last 8 games and he has 5 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Kinsler has now played in 35 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 29 for 133 (.218 avg, .744 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 5 homers, 15 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Rangers need Kinsler to get back on the right track with Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz out of the lineup due to injury.

The Texas Rangers have placed 30-year old righty swinging starting RF Nelson Cruz on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained right quad muscle. Cruz has played in 30 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 23 for 105 (.219 avg, .741 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 7 homers, 18 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has already whiffed 33 times this year as he is having issues making contact. Mitch Moreland will likely get the bulk of the P.T. in RF while Cruz is out of action with Mike Napoli and Chris Davis sharing 1B. The Rangers have called up 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Craig Gentry. Gentry has played in 25 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 21 for 88 (.239 avg, .643 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 0 homers, 9 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. In his first two years with the Rangers, Gentry has played in 31 games in which he is 9 for 50 (.180 avg, .422 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Don’t look for Gentry to get too much P.T. going forward.

20-year old lefty starting pitcher Martin Perez came into this season as the Rangers’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. Perez has pitched in 6 games (all starts) in AA-ball so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has whiffed 28 batters in his first 27 innings this year, but, he has walked 14 batters and that’s too many. Perez has now pitched in 72 games (63 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 13-18 with 1 save, a 4.10 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Perez has whiffed 301 batters in the first 303 innings of his minor league career and he has walked 130 batters. He won’t get his shot with the Rangers until he improves his control.