No deGrom, No Seager, No Problem! The Rangers Hot Fantasy Baseball Starts for Adolis Garcia, Jonah Heim, Josh Jung, Nathan Eovaldi

The Texas Rangers have invested in star power over the past two off-seasons with the additions of Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, and Jacob deGrom, totaling over $91.5 million in salary this year. Injuries to their star players to start off 2023 have not slowed down this team whatsoever. They're scoring over six runs per game so far, good for second-most in the league behind only Tampa Bay. 

The Rangers high powered offense has benefited from a strong supporting cast. This includes Adolis Garcia, who is building off a breakout 2022 campaign. Josh Jung, is building his Rookie of the Year case. Jonah Heim, your March/April RBI leader for the catcher position, and lastly, Nathan Eovaldi, fresh off a complete game shutout against the Yankees to close out April. 

Is this hot start sustainable? Texas sits atop the American League West, finishing April 17-11. Let’s discuss what we can expect for the remainder of the fantasy season while we wait for the Rangers’ stars to return to the lineup.

Adolis Garcia - OF

Garcia is coming off back-to-back seasons of 25 plus home runs and 90 plus RBI after the fantasy community was left questioning if his 2021 season was legitimate. He made a statement in April, leading the MLB in RBI with 30 through the first 27 games. All while putting together a .267 batting average with eight home runs while settling in nicely as the everyday cleanup hitter. 

The 30-year-old slugger’s expected batting average is in line at .263 for the season per Statcast and he’s hit the hardest ball of his career this year at 115.1 mph off the bat. Garcia’s average exit velocity sits in the 90th percentile this season as well, so you know he’s making consistently hard contact. 

Garcia’s strikeout rate has dropped to 22.1% while upping his walk rate to 8.2%, both career bests in the small sample. His fly ball rate is also up this season at 36.9% while making more zone contact, lowering his whiff rate, and chase rate. These signs all point towards another dominant season for Garcia batting in the heart of a leading offense. 

Jonah Heim - C

Since Mitch Garver went down with an injury, Jonah Heim has filled in with a near-everyday role with the club, sitting just thrice since April 8. Heim grew into a major part of the Texas lineup last year with Garver dealing with more of the same knee injuries so Heim is no stranger to a larger role. 

This is looking like more of a breakout year for Heim as he’s cemented himself in the Rangers lineup for the remainder of the season, regardless of Garver’s injury status. He has cleared a spot for himself, batting sixth regularly, but has a chance to move up in the order with his flexibility at the plate as a switch hitter. 

Like Garcia, Heim consistently hits the ball hard, ranking in the 90th plus percentile in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate, per Statcast. Heim has put together a hot start to the season with a batting average of over .300, five home runs, and 22 RBI. His expected batting average is also in line at .308 for the young season. Look for his success to continue as we move into the summer months of the season. 

Josh Jung - 3B

Jung surpassed his home run total of five from last year after he missed most of the season due to injury. He hit .270 with six home runs and 21 RBI through his first 26 games of 2023. Josh Jung is most definitely in the conversation, if not the current front-runner for American League Rookie of the Year but it will be tough to keep up this torrid pace. 

Most of his struggles in his minor league career came from a high strikeout rate. He struck out 38.2% of the time last year in 26 games and has only dropped that rate to 33% this year. That is an unreasonable amount for a player having such a hot start to the season. His expected batting average remains at .243 for the season as he’s sporting a high chase and whiff rate per Statcast. 

Nathan Eovaldi- SP

Eovaldi is coming off his best start of the year against the Yankees while sitting at 97 mph with his fastball. He’s mixed in his splitter and curveball nicely as he’s looked like a completely different pitcher from what we saw at the end of last year.  

His most recent gem brought his ERA down to 3.93 for the season to go along with a 39:5 K:BB. Both marks are the best of his career in a small sample to accompany an expected ERA of below three, per Statcast. Eovaldi is lined up to take on the Angels this weekend and is locked into your fantasy lineups for the remainder of the year. He’s a top-40 starting arm for a winning ball club with solid ratios and a chance for high strikeout totals on any given night. 

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