9 Stories to Look Forward to in 2018

We’re getting ahead of ourselves, of course. It’s not yet Christmas, and I’m already pulling on the bit a little, nudging my head towards green grass and white lines and cracking bats and popping mitts. The free agent market hasn’t even fully shaken out, and there’s every chance that the next week renders this list incomplete; it’s the baseball equivalent of putting out the Christmas decorations two days before Halloween. But it’s either this or a list of the worst baseball-related gifts on the internet… actually, you know what. That might be next up.

But for now….

9. Fewer Strikeouts?
Texas set an MLB record last season with eight—eight—hitters that struck out 100 or more times. Even the Brewers, who led all of baseball in strikeouts, only had six such hitters. Texas also set an all-time record for most hitters with 17+ home runs in a season. As such, they were the poster team for the new “swing for the fences” movement in baseball. Will that trend continue, or will Texas ease off the gas pedal a little (at least for a few of the guys who are not named Joey Gallo) and try to increase the on-base percentage?

8. More Strikeouts?
Texas pitchers—even as the aforementioned trend flailed on—struck out just 1,107 hitters in 2017, good for dead last in the sport. Making matters more grim: 148 of those came from Yu Darvish, whose return to Texas looks doubtful. Looking ahead to 2018, Texas has jettisoned:

Andrew Cashner (86 strikeouts in 166⅔ innings)
Nick Martinez (67 in 111⅓)
A.J. Griffin (61 in 77⅓), and
Tyson Ross (36 in 49)

and replaced them with:

Matt Moore (148 in 174⅓)
Mike Minor (88 in 77⅔, but out of the Kansas City bullpen)
Doug Fister (83 in 90⅓)

If you wonder why the team would even entertain the thought of Matt Bush converting to starter, perhaps his 58 strikeouts in 52⅓ innings will point you in the right direction.

7. Delino DeShields, full-time center fielder. 

Here’s why.

6. Will Adrian Beltre get to 500 home runs?

He’s at 462. It’s not likely to happen in 2018, though it is possible. The more reasonable question is: will he get to 500 in a Rangers uniform? More on that in a moment.

5. Joey Gallo’s adjustments at the plate

Here’s why.

4. Where does Alex Claudio Fit?

As of December 23rd, the Rangers haven’t acquired a “closer”, which means that Alex Claudio is status quo for the ninth inning. Part of me can’t imagine that’s the case as of Opening Day, but of the top two internal candidates, one (Matt Bush) didn’t fare so well in the role last year (and might be a starter anyway) and the other (Keone Kela) has the velocity and demeanor, but his shoulder hasn’t really allowed him the consistency to know if he’ll be reliable for a whole season.

If Kela does usurp the throne, Claudio can slide into the Andrew Miller role. Either way, it will be interesting to see if he can keep baffling hitters with his physics-defying changeup.

3. The Island of Misfit Toys 

Chris Martin is 31 and worked at a furniture store for five years while he was out of baseball. He played for the Grand Prairie Air Hogs, and just came back from Japan, where he learned a splitter from Shohei Ohtani. Tony Barnette, likewise, had to go to Japan to find his mojo. Alex Claudio is Karate Kid. Jake Diekman had a colon removed last year. Austin Bibens-Dirkx was a 32-year-old rookie last year and has played for more teams than Shaq. Shawn Tolleson is just hoping to make the big leagues again. Matt Bush was in prison.

Every bullpen is full of oddballs, but if you can’t root for this band of prodigals, we need to talk about why you hate underdogs and America.

2. Matt Moore’s Renaissance?

Will Matt Moore be more Andrew Cashner, or more Tyson Ross? Everyone’s hopeful in December, but Moore seems to be convinced that 2018 will be a bounce back year for him, and here’s why.

1. Can the Rangers with for (with) Adrian Beltre?
It’s a huge bummer to think about, but it’s true: if the Rangers aren’t in contention in June, Adrian Beltre is playing in a different uniform by August. He’ll be 39 this season, hasn’t won a World Series, and hears the sands of time whipping past, so it’s understandable that he is pretty singularly focused on that goal. The Rangers respect Beltre enough to trade him if there’s no chance to win in Texas in 2018.

If there was no Adrian Beltre, there’s every possibility that the Rangers would have taken this off-season to get younger and look towards fielding a winning squad in 2020, just in time for the new stadium.

Instead, they’ll give it one last go and try to get Adrian a ring here in Texas. And they’ll do it with a center fielder who might need to swing more, a second baseman who definitely need to swing less, a bullpen made of refurbished demolition derby cars, and a rotation that consists of an aging star, a bullfighter with one elbow, and three new guys.

Is it a long shot? Indubitably. It’s the sort of fairy tale that has high stakes, impossible odds, and would require nothing short of a miracle to come to fruition.

Which is exactly why it’s the storyline I’m most looking forward to in 2018.