Developed Teams 2011: Texas Rangers

Back to Baseball!  After a long hiatus due to Burning Person, work travel, and the shock of returning to the de-fault normal world, I'm finally ready to resume filling the pages of the Internet with the wealth of statistical knowledge I have stored in my head and on my lists.

I now see that it would be foolish to try and complete a developed list of all 30 teams by the end of the season, but I can at least finish all the teams likely to make the playoffs.  To that end, here's a developed team of the AL West-leading Texas Rangers:

This team has a lot of two things - namely first basemen and starting pitchers - and not a lot of anything else.  To start from a position of strength:  Mark Teixeira is clearly one of the elite hitters of the last decade, possibly even of his generation.  What's more, he played the majority of his career for the Rangers (his first 4+ seasons, soon to be eclipsed by the Yankees).  Carlos Pena, on the other hand, played only 22 games in Texas before bouncing around to five other teams - and most people in baseball were surprised that that number didn't become six at this year's trade deadline.  Mitch Moreland, the Rangers' current starter at 1B, has played some games at 3B, right? Oh, wait, that was Chris Davis, who didn't make the team.  Moreland played some RF... but sometimes you have to take the non-traditional path to make these types of projects work.

And those are only the first basemen to make the starting lineup.  We've also got the Indians' starting (but injured) DH Travis Hafner (who played one more game for Texas than did Pena) and the Mariners' starting 1B Justin Smoak (acquired in the Cliff Lee deal just last year).  Not a very versatile infield bench, but believe me, if there were any better choices, I would have made them.  I submit as evidence the starting SS Joaquin Arias and the only player developed by Texas actually listed as a 3B (Mike Lamb), neither of whom has played in 2011.

If you look closely, you'll notice someone else who hasn't played in 2011 at the top of the order.  But look at what Scott Podsednik did last year with the bat, split between KC and LAD.  The veteran, who stole more bases than his advanced age last year, got a deal with Toronto, but missed making the roster due to injury.  Julio Borbon hasn't played much this year, after being slotted as the starting CF, but on the other side of the field, Laynce Nix has swung the bat very well for Washington.  On the bench, I chose to go with the proven speed of Jason Bourgeois rather than the potential power of John Mayberry Jr.

Now let's check out the starters.  We all know about John Danks's struggle to win games earlier this season, and Colby Lewis has been so-so.  But C.J. Wilson has brilliantly followed up his first season as a starter with an All-Star appearance, 16 wins, and an ERA just north of 3.  Edinson Volquez started on Opening Day for the Reds, but has struggled so much with his command that manager Dusty Baker sent him to AAA for 13 starts in 2011.  R.A. Dickey and his knuckleball have led to good peripherals, but the Mets haven't been able to win him many games.  And that's just the starting rotation.

Alexi Ogando has been a great starter since following Wilson's lead in moving from the bullpen this season (although his stamina over a full season is still something he needs to work on).  Derek Holland's moustache has brought success to the lefty, who currently is sitting on 14 wins.  And Aaron Harang has taken the first step towards turning his career around with 13 wins for San Diego after three straight seasons of 6 wins apiece in Cincinnati (moving from a hitter's park to a pitcher's park might have something to do with that...).  Not included in this roster:  former playoff pitcher (and more recent trade bait) Tommy Hunter, former 17 game winner (and current minor league fodder) Scott Feldman, and of course veteran Doug Davis.

There was talk of moving Neftali Feliz to the rotation, but when Ogando cut in front of him, Feliz was forced to remain the closer.  He hasn't been as dominant as in his Rookie of the Year season, which also included a trip to the World Series, but quite frankly a club could do a lot worse.  Joaquin Benoit has shown almost equal flashes of brilliance and mediocrity as a setup man, and in 2011 he's been about on par with workhorse Nick Masset.  Darren Oliver is with Texas now, and he was developed by Texas, but he's had a circuitous route back to his original team - one that's taken the veteran through seven other clubs, plus an additional stint with the Rangers in the early part of the Millennium.

The only two key players from this roster I haven't mentioned by name are former star Ivan Rodriguez and current star Ian Kinsler.  In my opinion, these two players perfectly bridge the gap between the successful Rangers in the end of the 1990s and the successful Rangers in the start of the 2010s - except this current team also includes a competent pitching staff and a front office led by one of the team's and the game's most famous pitching legends.  We'll just have to wait and see if they can repeat last year's long and deep trip into the post-season.