60-year old manager Ron Washington seems to be able to get the Rangers close to where they want to be (winning the World Series), before always seeming to find a way to fall just short.  The Rangers were 93-69 (57.4%) last year but they lost the Wild Card game to the Orioles.  Washington is now 520-452 (53.5%) during the regular season in his first six years on the job for the Rangers.  He is also 18-16 (52.9%) in the post-season for the Rangers.  The Rangers have lost a lot of key players for 2013, so Washington is going to have to do the best managing job of his career, just to get to the playoffs.

The Rangers are hoping that some guys step up to help them in the pen for 2013.  38-year old righty Joe Nathan will be the closer for the Rangers again in 2013.  He pitched in 66 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 3-5 with 37 saves, a 2.80 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.  Nathan has now pitched in 647 games (29 starts) in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 51-28 with 298 saves, a 2.87 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  28-year old righty Joakim Soria will likely be the top set-up man for the Rangers when he returns from Tommy John surgery, likely in early May.  Soria missed the entire 2012 season.  Soria pitched in 60 games (0 starts) for the Royals in 2011 and he was 5-5 with 28 saves, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 298 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 13-15 with 160 saves, a 2.40 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP.  35-year old righty Jason Frasor will be the Rangers’ top set-up man until Soria is ready to return to action.  Frasor pitched in 50 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last year and he was 1-1 with a 4.12 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 525 games (0 starts) in his first nine years in the majors and he is 26-31 with 36 saves, a 3.77 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  25-year old righty Josh Lindblom will also likely have a big role in the Rangers’ pen in 2013.  He pitched in 74 games (0 starts) for the Phillies and Dodgers last year in which he was 3-5 with 1 save, a 3.55 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 101 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 4-5 with 1 save, a 3.31 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.  26-year old Michael Kirkman could  be the Rangers’ top lefty in the pen if Robbie Ross is needed in the starting rotation in 2013.  Kirkman pitched in 28 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 1-2 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 57 games (0 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 2-3 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.  26-year old righty Tanner Scheppers, 25-year old righty Cory Burns, 28-year old righty Kyle McClellan and 37-year old righty Yoshinori Tateyama also could help out the Rangers out of the pen at some point in 2013.  Scheppers pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last year in his first taste of the majors and he was 1-1 with 1 save, a 4.45 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.  He also pitched in 27 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 1-2 with 11 saves, a 3.48 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.  Burns pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Padres last year in his first taste of the majors and he was 0-1 with a 5.50 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.  He also pitched in 54 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 1-2 with 3 saves, a 3.14 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  McClellan pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 0-1 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 261 games (17 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 19-23 with 6 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.  Tateyama pitched in 14 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 1-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 53 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Rangers and he is 3-0 with 1 save, a 5.75 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BULLPEN IN 2013:  B-

26-year old righty Yu Darvish, 26-year old lefty Derek Holland and 27-year old lefty Matt Harrison will be the top three starters for the Rangers when the 2013 season begins.  The other two spots are up for grabs.  All Darvish did a a rookie last year was to make the All-Star team, finish 3rd in the voting for the Rookie of the Year Award and he was also 9th in the voting for the A.L. Cy Young Award.  Darvish pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 16-9 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.  He will get even better when he decides to trust his stuff and pound the strike zone.  Holland started out poorly for the Rangers last year, but he certainly finished strongly.  Holland pitched in 29 games (27 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 12-7 with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 108 games (90 starts) in his first four years with the Rangers and he is 39-29 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.  The Rangers hope that 2013 season is the season that Holland puts it all together.  Harrison pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.  He finished 8th in the voting for the Cy Young Award and he made the All-Star team last year.  Harrison has now pitched in 126 games (94 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 48-30 with 2 saves, a 4.08 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  33-year old righty Colby Lewis is going to miss the first month of the 2013 season as he continues to recover from elbow surgery.  He pitched in 16 games (all starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 6-6 with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 152 games (114 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 44-44 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP.  Lewis will be the Rangers’ #4 starter when his elbow is ready.  The Rangers have moved 23-year old lefty Robbie Ross into the rotation this spring and he was a starter in the minors.  He pitched in 58 games (0 starts) for the Rangers as a rookie last year and he was 6-0 with a 2.22 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  30-year old righty Randy Wells, 24-year old righty Justin Grimm and 39-year old righty Derek Lowe will duke it out to see who the #5 starter will be when the 2013 season opens.  Wells pitched in 12 games (4 starts) for the Cubs last year and he was 1-2 with a 5.34 ERA and a 2.06 WHIP.  Wells has now pitched in 98 games (86 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 28-32 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.  Grimm comes into this season as the Rangers’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America.  He pitched in 25 games (22 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 11-6 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP.  Grimm got his first taste of the majors last year with the Rangers, working in 5 games (2 starts) in which he was 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP.  Lowe pitched in 38 games (21 starts) for the Yankees and Indians last year in which he was 9-11 with 1 save, a 5.11 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.  Lowe has now pitched in 672 games (377 starts) in his first 16 years in the majors and he is 175-157 with 86 saves, a 4.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  21-year old lefty Martin Perez comes into this season as the Rangers’ #3 prospect according to Baseball America.  He pitched in 22 games (21 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 7-6 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  He got his first taste of the majors last year, working in 12 games (6 starts) for the Rangers in which he was 1-4 with a 5.45 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP.  Perez will miss the start of the 2013 season due to a broken forearm.  24-year old righty Neftali Feliz will be out until around August as he continues to recover from Tommy John Surgery.  Feliz pitched in 8 games (7 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  Feliz has now pitched in 162 games (7 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 10-7 with 74 saves, a 2.67 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STARTING ROTATION IN 2013:  B

The Rangers hope that 32-year old righty swinging RF Nelson Cruz has a big year in 2013.  He played in 159 games for the Rangers last year and he was 152 of 585 (.260 avg, .779 OPS) with 86 runs scored, 24 homers, 90 RBIs and 8 stolen bases.  He played in 151 games (146 starts) in RF for the Rangers last year and he had 9 assists and 4 errors there while showing good range.  Cruz has now played in 659 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 664 of 2,478 (.268 avg, .821 OPS) with 355 runs scored, 130 homers, 413 RBIs and 60 stolen bases.  The Rangers hope that Cruz isn’t suspended at some point in 2013 due to his dealings with the Biogensis Lab in Miami.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RIGHT FIELDERS IN 2013:  B+

The Rangers are going to have an open competition this spring for the starting CF job in 2013.  24-year old lefty swinging Leonys Martin, 29-year old righty swinging Craig Gentry and 27-year old lefty swinging Julio Borbon will be duking it out in spring training for the job.  Martin played in 24 games for the Rangers last year and he was 8 for 46 (.174 avg, .605 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 0 homers, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Martin played in 14 games (12 starts) in CF for the Rangers last year and he had 1 assist and 0 errors there while showing out of this world range.  Martin also played in 55 games in AAA-ball for the Rangers last year in which he was 83 of 231 (.359 avg, 1.033 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 12 homers, 42 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.  Martin has now played in 32 games in his first two years with the Rangers and he is 11 of 54 (.204 avg, .643 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 0 homers, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Gentry played in 122 games for the Rangers last year and he was 73 of 240 (.304 avg, .759 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 1 homer, 26 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.  He played in 114 games (66 starts) in CF for the Rangers last year and he had 7 assists and 0 errors there while showing off outstanding range.  Gentry has now played in 217 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 118 of 423 (.279 avg, .699 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 2 homers, 43 RBIs and 32 stolen bases.  Borbon was banished to the minors last year, where he spent the whole 2012 season.  Borbon played in 126 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 162 of 533 (.304 avg, .783 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 10 homers, 56 RBIs and 20 stolen bases.  He last played in the majors in 2011 with the Rangers.  Borbon has played in 215 games in his first three years with the Rangers and he is 194 of 684 (.284 avg, .682 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 7 homers, 73 RBIs and 40 stolen bases.  26-year old Aaron Cunningham could also get some P.T. in CF for the Rangers in 2013, if he makes the team.  Cunningham played in 11 games (6 starts) in CF last year and he had 1 assist and 0 errors there while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTER FIELDERS IN 2013:  C+

The Texas Rangers are hoping for a big season in 2013 out of 31-year old lefty swinging David Murphy.  Murphy played in 147 games for the Rangers last year and he was 139 for 457 (.304 avg, .859 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 15 homers, 61 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.  He played in 120 games (106 starts) in LF for the Rangers last year and he had 4 assists and 1 error there while showing below average range.  Murphy has now played in 707 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 643 of 2,254 (.285 avg, .801 OPS) with 311 runs scored, 73 homers, 319 RBIs and 51 stolen bases.  26-year old righty swinging Aaron Cunningham could make the team this spring.  He played in 72 games for the Indians last year and he was 17 of 97 (.175 avg, .493 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs.  He played in 52 games (7 starts) in LF for the Indians last year and he had 2 assists and 0 errors there while showing outstanding range.  Cunningham has now played in 222 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 99 of 452 (.219 avg, .628 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 7 homers, 51 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LEFT FIELDERS IN 2013:  B

The Rangers hope that 37-year old switch-hitting Lance Berkman can stay healthy and give them some thump at DH in 2013.  Berkman played in only 32 games for the Cardinals last year and he was 21 of 81 (.259 avg, .826 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers, 7 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He has now played in 1,806 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 1,843 of 6,235 (.296 avg, .953 OPS) with 1,119 runs scored, 360 homers, 1,200 RBIs and 86 stolen bases.  The Rangers need Berkman to stay healthy in 2013 and help them make up for some of the thump they lost when Josh Hamilton jumped ship.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DESIGNATED HITTERS IN 2013:  B

33-year old righty swinging Adrian Beltre is an outstanding all-ar0und player for the Rangers.  He played in 156 games for the Rangers last year and he was 194 of 604 (.321 avg, .921 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 36 homers, 102 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  He played in 129 games (all starts) for the Rangers last year at 3B and he had 8 errors while showing slightly below average range.  Beltre has now played in 2,115 games in his first 15 years in the majors and he is 2,227 of 7,965 (.280 avg, .807 OPS) with 1,089 runs scored, 346 homers, 1,215 RBIs and 115 stolen bases.  24-year old righty swinging Mike Olt is one of the best prospects for the Rangers.  He played in 16 games for the Rangers last year and he was 5 for 33 (.152 avg, .432 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 0 homers, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base.  Olt played in 5 games (2 starts) at 3B for the Rangers last year and he had 1 error there while showing outstanding range.  Olt also played in 95 games in AA-ball last year in which he was 102 of 354 (.288 avg, .977 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 28 homers, 82 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE THIRD BASEMEN IN 2013:  A

24-year old righty swinging Elvis Andrus’ name flowed a lot in trade rumors over the winter, but he will be back as the Rangers’ starting SS once again in 2013.  Andrus played in 158 games for the Rangers last year and he was 180 for 629 (.286 avg, .727 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 3 homers, 62 RBIs and 21 stolen bases.  He played in 153 games (150 starts) at SS for the Rangers last year and he had 16 errors while showing slightly below average range.  Andrus has now played in 601 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 628 of 2,284 (.275 avg, .695 OPS) with 341 runs scored, 14 homers, 197 RBIs and 123 stolen bases.  If anything happens to Andrus, the Rangers will summon 19-year old switch-hitting Jurickson Profar from the minors.  Profar is one of the best prospects that the Rangers have right now.  He got his first taste of the majors last year for the Rangers, playing in 9 games in which he was 3 for 17 (.176 avg, .647 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs.  He played in 3 games (2 starts) for the Rangers at SS last year and he didn’t make any errors.  Profar also played in 126 games in AA-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 135 of 480 (.281 avg, .820 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 14 homers, 62 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.  25-year old switch-hitting Yangervis Solarte could also win a bench job with the Rangers this year.  He played in 130 games in AAA-ball for the Rangers last year and he was 149 of 518 (.288 avg, .745 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 11 homers, 54 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  Solarte has now played in 539 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 580 of 2,013 (288 avg, .735 OPS) with 266 runs scored, 29 homers, 237 RBIs and 30 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SHORTSTOPS IN 2013:  B

30-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler is one of the main guys that makes the Rangers’ offense go.  He played in 157 games for the Rangers last year and he was 168 of 655 (.256 avg, .749 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 19 homers, 72 RBIs and 21 stolen bases.  Kinsler played in 144 games (all starts) for the Rangers at 2B last year and he had 18 errors while showing off pretty horrible range.  Kinsler has now played in 930 games in his first seven years in the majors and he is 994 of 3,656 (.272 avg, .811 OPS) with 663 runs scored, 143 homers, 467 RBIs and 157 stolen bases.  31-year old righty swinging Jeff Baker could give Kinsler a day off once in a while.  He played in 9 games (3 starts) at 2B last year and he didn’t have any errors while showing off pretty horrible range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SECOND BASEMEN IN 2013:  B+