31-year old righty swinging infielder Jeff Baker is swinging a hot stick for the Rangers so far this year.  He has played in 17 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 11 for 33 (.333 avg, 1.103 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers and 6 RBIs.  It would be smart of the Rangers to find more ABs for the Rangers in the near future if Baker keeps raking like he is right now.  Baker can handle playing 1B, 2B, 3B and the corner outfield spots….which should make it easy to find him more ABs moving forward.

30-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler is on fire with the bat so far this year for the Rangers.  Kinsler has played in 28 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 39 for 114 (.342 avg, .958 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 5 homers, 18 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Kinsler has walked more times (11) than he has whiffed (10) so far this year as he is really locked in at the plate right now.  The Rangers need Kinsler to stay healthy this year, as he is the guy that makes the offense go for them.

30-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler is on fire for the Rangers so far this year.  He has played in 6 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 8 for 24 (.333 avg, 1.116 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers and 8 RBIs.  He has walked more times (3) than he has whiffed (2) so far this year, so he is locked in.  The Rangers need everyone in the lineup to step up to help replace Josh Hamilton (signed with the Angels over the winter), and Kinsler is doing his part so far in 2013.

32-year old righty swinging RF Nelson Cruz and 37-year old switch-hitting DH Lance Berkman hit the ball well against the Astros in the Rangers’ opening series of the 2013 season.  Cruz has played in 3 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 6 for 12 (.500 avg, 1.122 OPS) with 1 run scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs.  Berkman has played in 3 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 6 for 10 (.600 avg, 1.392 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers and 3 RBIs.  Berkman has walked 3 times while only whiffing 1 time so far this year as he seems locked in at the plate.  The Rangers are really depending on Cruz and Berkman’s bats this year, so they hope that can stay healthy and keep up the good work.

31-year old lefty swinging CF/LF Josh Hamilton is a free agent at the end of this year, so you better get a good look at him if you are a Rangers’ fan…..as I don’t think he will be returning in 2013. Hamilton has played in 138 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 149 of 520 (.287 avg, .947 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 42 homers, 123 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 637 games in his first five years with the Rangers and he is 760 of 2,485 (.306 avg, .915 OPS) with 414 runs scored, 141 homers, 501 RBIs and 40 stolen bases. Hamilton is going to be almost impossible to replace, but I just don’t see the Rangers paying him what he’s going to get on the open market.

33-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre has been ripping the ball all year long, but he got hotter in August. He has played in 27 games so far in August and he is 33 of 102 (.324 avg, .997 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 7 homers and 20 RBIs. Beltre has now played in 125 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 152 of 485 (.313 avg, .879 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 25 homers, 81 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Beltre has been rock solid for the Rangers all season long and I don’t see that changing in September or October.

The Rangers have had no choice but to keep 30-year old lefty swinging David Murphy in the lineup full-time due to his red hot bat. Since June 1st, Murphy has played in 62 games for the Rangers in which he is 64 of 185 (.346 avg) with 23 runs scored, 6 homers, 32 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Murphy has walked more times (26) than he has whiffed (18) since June 1st, showing how locked in he is at the plate right now. Murphy has played in 107 games overall this year for the Rangers and he is 98 of 317 (.309 avg, .881 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 11 homers, 48 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.

30-year old lefty swinging outfielder David Murphy has been on fire with the bat lately for the Rangers. He has played in 49 games since June 1st for the Rangers and he is 47 of 138 (.341 avg) with 16 runs scored, 4 homers, 24 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Murphy has now played in 94 games overall this year for the Rangers and he is 81 of 270 (.300 avg, .861 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 9 homers, 40 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Rangers hope that Murphy stays hot at the dish, because they are going to need all hands on the deck to win the A.L. West with the Angels playing better.

33-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre is ripping the ball for the Rangers this year. He has played in 87 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 109 of 339 (.322 avg, .877 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 17 homers, 59 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Beltre has now played in 211 games in his first two years with the Rangers and he is 253 of 826 (.306 avg, .886 OPS) with 136 runs scored, 49 homers, 164 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Rangers need Beltre to keep swinging a hot stick as the Angels are not that far back in the rear view mirror.

28-year old righty swinging outfielder Craig Gentry has been red hot so far in June. In his first 8 games this month, Gentry is 11 of 22 (.500 avg, 1.196 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Gentry has now played in 51 games overall this year and he is 34 for 100 (.340 avg, .851 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer, 15 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 146 games in his first four years with the Rangers and he is 79 for 283 (.279 avg, .701 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 2 homers, 32 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Gentry has really turned into a nice asset with the bat and his speed both offensively and defensively.