2019 ZiPS Projections – Texas Rangers by Dan Szymborski January 14, 2019 After having typically appeared in the hallowed pages of Baseball Think Factory, Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections have now been released at FanGraphs for more than half a decade. The exercise continues this offseason. Below are the projections for the Texas Rangers. ZiPS Projections 20192018ALBALCHWHOUBOSCLELAANYYDETOAKTBRKCRSEATORMINTEX NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFGALBALCHWHOUBOSCLELAANYYDETOAKTBRKCRSEATORMINTEX NLATLCHCARIMIACINCOLNYMMILLADPHIPITSDPWSNSTLSFG Batters Perhaps the biggest disappointment in last year’s projections (and in 2018, really) was the several steps taken backward by Willie Calhoun. Originally, it was believed he would only be in the minors temporarily to beat up minor league pitchers while some service time shenanigans resolved themselves. Problem was, Calhoun never really earned a callup, struggling to hit Triple-A pitchers and only besting an .800 OPS in a single month of the season, a July that was driven by a .364 batting average. The Rangers brought him up when there was obvious playing time for him, but hitting .222/.269/.333 in 108 plate appearances was hardly a strong push for a full-time job. Even ignoring the cameo role in the majors, Calhoun’s power was mostly gone in the minors, which is not good. To be a decent starting left fielder in the majors, you have to be a batting average/on-base percentage deity or be a legitimate all-world talent on defense. Calhoun is neither. I wouldn’t write him off yet, but I’m very worried. I’m a little surprised that Texas either couldn’t or wouldn’t close a deal with another team for Shin-Soo Choo, a player whose presence required a losing Rangers team to carry a significant salary after Choo turned in a solid little year and had some trade value. Choo is quickly approaching age 40, and until Nomar Mazara actually turns his impressive raw power into actual counting numbers, Joey Gallo is the only really dependable Rangers hitter. Gallo is what he is, and will likely always have an abysmal batting average. He’s fortunate to not have been born 30 years earlier. One projection that intrigues me is Christian Lopes’, who was a third-tier prospect for the Blue Jays a very long time ago with a fairly mature approach at the plate coming out of high school. It never really manifested itself in the stats, however, and the knock was that he didn’t have a standout tool otherwise. But he’s made great strides the last couple years and has gotten to the point where he may be a pretty interesting role player, with Texas using him at a lot of positions in the minors. Pitchers You can see the skinny rebuild in progress in the Rangers’ rotation. You have a number of OK-ish starters (excluding Yohander Mendez, who ZiPS hates with the fire of a thousand suns), probably none of whom will be part of the next good Rangers team. Drew Smyly, Edinson Volquez, and Shelby Miller are essentially reclamation projects, and at three years and $30 million, Lance Lynn may be the last of the quintet “out” of Texas (Mike Minor is there, too), but if the recovery in his peripherals in 2018 isn’t a fluke, Texas may get a real prospect for him. ZiPS is a believer in Jose Leclerc at the front of the bullpen, and sees the rest of the group as a fairly boring but quite adequate relief corps, which is fine with the Rangers not seriously contending yet. Bench and Prospects One of the most interesting Rangers projections is that of Brock Burke, a former Rays third-rounder who the Rays brought around very slowly out of high school. 2018 was the year in which everything clicked, with Burke seeing a 30% bump in his strikeout rate while also being promoted, striking out almost 12 batters a game for Montgomery. ZiPS doesn’t give him a huge ceiling, but is surprisingly confident in Burke being a mid-rotation starter despite only him only having limited playing time in Double-A. One pedantic note for 2019: for the WAR graphic, I’m using FanGraphs’ depth chart playing time, not the playing time ZiPS spits out, so there will be occasional differences in WAR totals. Ballpark graphic courtesy Eephus League. Depth charts constructed by way of those listed here at site. Batters – Counting Stats Player B Age PO G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS Joey Gallo L 25 LF 142 436 85 93 19 3 40 84 78 202 7 2 Adrian Beltre R 40 3B 101 369 40 98 18 1 12 55 30 76 1 0 Elvis Andrus R 30 SS 132 511 69 139 29 4 10 54 37 81 13 7 Rougned Odor L 25 2B 148 551 82 137 28 4 24 77 38 141 13 10 Shin-Soo Choo L 36 DH 123 464 71 116 21 1 17 55 68 129 6 2 Nomar Mazara L 24 RF 144 536 65 140 25 3 23 88 46 129 1 1 Christian Lopes R 26 2B 120 434 55 111 23 2 9 45 46 85 12 5 Patrick Wisdom R 27 3B 125 418 56 96 21 2 16 60 37 145 8 3 Nolan Fontana L 28 SS 92 299 40 62 15 2 6 29 50 99 6 3 Tommy Joseph R 27 1B 117 411 52 107 23 0 21 69 26 99 0 0 Willie Calhoun L 24 LF 145 545 71 146 31 2 22 74 37 81 3 1 Ronald Guzman L 24 1B 131 454 56 112 20 3 15 58 39 127 2 1 Danny Santana B 28 CF 103 324 43 79 18 4 10 40 15 89 12 6 Chase d’Arnaud R 32 2B 106 340 44 82 15 3 9 39 29 90 13 4 Delino DeShields R 26 CF 118 380 66 90 16 3 4 26 48 104 25 7 Andy Ibanez R 26 3B 122 466 53 116 22 2 11 46 32 82 4 5 Carlos Perez R 28 C 76 250 27 58 14 1 7 32 17 52 2 1 Jett Bandy R 29 C 82 263 30 58 14 0 9 32 14 61 2 0 Isiah Kiner-Falefa R 24 C 122 441 50 111 20 2 4 35 34 81 9 6 Anderson Tejeda L 21 SS 125 476 59 109 19 4 15 54 36 171 8 6 Jack Reinheimer R 26 SS 114 417 49 98 16 2 5 34 35 104 14 6 Hunter Cole R 26 RF 107 404 47 96 19 3 13 48 31 128 2 3 Ryan Rua R 29 LF 89 247 32 54 9 1 9 26 17 88 6 1 Leody Taveras B 20 CF 138 551 61 132 18 6 8 43 41 121 15 12 Jeff Mathis R 36 C 56 166 13 32 7 1 2 15 14 58 0 0 Tony Sanchez R 31 C 67 233 27 54 11 1 5 25 20 64 1 1 Josh Morgan R 23 C 95 363 39 87 16 2 4 29 23 64 2 1 Jose Trevino R 26 C 89 347 35 76 13 1 6 31 14 58 1 2 Charles Leblanc R 23 2B 126 464 52 110 21 3 9 45 38 121 5 3 Carlos Tocci R 23 CF 130 382 40 98 14 6 1 28 23 93 4 7 Nick Noonan L 30 SS 89 304 30 69 14 1 4 28 16 80 2 2 Jose Cardona R 25 CF 111 425 47 101 15 1 8 35 26 82 11 9 Cliff Pennington B 35 SS 91 234 24 48 8 1 2 16 25 67 2 1 Scott Heineman R 26 RF 118 479 59 118 22 3 11 46 34 128 12 8 Michael De Leon R 22 SS 140 515 46 124 21 1 4 37 18 80 2 2 Destin Hood R 29 RF 108 384 44 86 18 2 14 48 24 130 5 3 Yonny Hernandez B 21 SS 116 390 46 86 13 2 2 26 48 95 31 16 Eliezer Alvarez B 24 LF 108 408 50 92 20 4 9 41 34 141 20 5 Eli White R 25 2B 122 484 55 113 24 4 6 40 40 146 10 6 Yanio Perez R 23 1B 96 365 39 84 12 1 8 32 25 105 2 1 Michael O’Neill R 27 CF 122 439 46 92 19 2 10 39 29 157 18 6 Preston Beck L 28 1B 109 404 43 92 17 3 7 37 29 104 2 3 Correlle Prime R 25 1B 86 292 27 56 11 1 6 23 17 129 3 4 Batters – Rate Stats Player BA OBP SLG OPS+ ISO BABIP RC/27 Def WAR No. 1 Comp Joey Gallo .213 .343 .546 127 .333 .273 6.5 -7 2.2 Adam Dunn Adrian Beltre .266 .324 .417 92 .152 .306 5.0 6 1.5 Mike Lowell Elvis Andrus .272 .322 .403 88 .131 .307 4.8 -2 1.2 Marco Scutaro Rougned Odor .249 .307 .445 93 .196 .293 4.8 -2 1.2 Steve Buechele Shin-Soo Choo .250 .355 .409 100 .159 .311 5.3 0 1.1 Bill White Nomar Mazara .261 .323 .448 99 .187 .305 5.3 -1 1.0 Adam Lind Christian Lopes .256 .330 .380 86 .124 .300 4.6 -1 0.8 Tim Dulin Patrick Wisdom .230 .297 .404 81 .175 .311 4.3 3 0.8 Jim Chamblee Nolan Fontana .207 .322 .331 72 .124 .289 3.6 1 0.5 Lauro Felix Tommy Joseph .260 .309 .470 100 .209 .296 5.3 -3 0.4 Nate Gold Willie Calhoun .268 .317 .453 99 .185 .281 5.3 -7 0.4 Mike Greenwell Ronald Guzman .247 .314 .403 86 .156 .311 4.5 4 0.4 Juan Tejeda Danny Santana .244 .279 .417 79 .173 .307 4.1 1 0.3 Randy Kutcher Chase d’Arnaud .241 .306 .382 79 .141 .303 4.3 -2 0.2 Royce Clayton Delino DeShields .237 .325 .326 72 .089 .316 4.1 -1 0.2 Deron McCue Andy Ibanez .249 .300 .376 75 .127 .282 3.9 1 0.2 Pete Rose Jr. Carlos Perez .232 .281 .380 71 .148 .267 3.8 0 0.2 Jim Horner Jett Bandy .221 .283 .376 71 .156 .254 3.8 -1 0.1 Scott Servais Isiah Kiner-Falefa .252 .315 .333 71 .082 .301 3.7 -4 0.0 Rafael Pujols Anderson Tejeda .229 .284 .380 72 .151 .324 3.7 -2 0.0 Bert Pena Jack Reinheimer .235 .296 .319 62 .084 .302 3.4 2 -0.1 Drew Meyer Hunter Cole .238 .293 .396 78 .158 .316 4.0 3 -0.1 Mike Diaz Ryan Rua .219 .276 .372 68 .154 .300 3.7 3 -0.1 Cory Aldridge Leody Taveras .240 .292 .338 64 .098 .294 3.3 6 -0.2 Julio Peguero Jeff Mathis .193 .258 .283 42 .090 .283 2.4 4 -0.2 Frank Charles Tony Sanchez .232 .298 .352 70 .120 .299 3.6 -4 -0.3 Mike DiFelice Josh Morgan .240 .291 .328 62 .088 .281 3.4 -2 -0.3 Chad Strickland Jose Trevino .219 .250 .314 47 .095 .247 2.6 6 -0.4 Rogelio Arias Charles Leblanc .237 .295 .353 69 .116 .302 3.7 -2 -0.4 Brad Harman Carlos Tocci .257 .306 .332 68 .076 .337 3.4 0 -0.4 Darren Lewis Nick Noonan .227 .266 .319 53 .092 .295 2.9 1 -0.6 Kevin Baez Jose Cardona .238 .285 .334 62 .096 .278 3.2 1 -0.6 Joey Aragon Cliff Pennington .205 .281 .274 47 .068 .279 2.6 0 -0.6 Rabbit Warstler Scott Heineman .246 .305 .374 77 .127 .315 4.0 -2 -0.6 Mike Berger Michael De Leon .241 .268 .309 51 .068 .278 2.9 6 -0.7 Mario Diaz Destin Hood .224 .271 .391 70 .167 .300 3.6 0 -0.7 Scott Wade Yonny Hernandez .221 .312 .279 57 .059 .287 3.0 -4 -0.8 Nick Punto Eliezer Alvarez .225 .290 .360 69 .135 .322 3.9 -3 -0.8 Thomas Howard Eli White .233 .298 .337 66 .103 .322 3.5 -5 -0.9 Caonabo Cosme Yanio Perez .230 .286 .334 62 .104 .302 3.4 0 -1.2 Jason Restko Michael O’Neill .210 .266 .330 55 .121 .301 3.1 -7 -1.6 Jamie Sykes Preston Beck .228 .283 .337 62 .109 .290 3.2 -3 -1.7 Greg Creek Correlle Prime .192 .240 .298 40 .106 .318 2.2 2 -1.7 Eli Tintor Pitchers – Counting Stats Player T Age W L ERA G GS IP H ER HR BB SO Lance Lynn R 32 10 9 4.50 28 27 146.0 154 73 19 65 126 Mike Minor L 31 9 8 4.49 24 24 132.3 133 66 20 37 108 Jose Leclerc R 25 4 2 3.13 61 0 63.3 45 22 3 39 85 Brock Burke L 22 8 7 4.77 25 23 128.3 143 68 16 54 99 Martin Perez L 28 8 7 4.76 26 22 128.7 146 68 14 46 77 Drew Smyly L 30 6 5 4.73 20 20 99.0 105 52 19 32 97 Jesse Chavez R 35 4 2 3.99 57 0 76.7 76 34 11 20 71 Brett Martin L 24 6 6 4.92 26 15 89.7 99 49 10 39 66 Yovani Gallardo R 33 8 8 5.22 26 24 122.3 139 71 16 54 77 Adrian Sampson R 27 7 7 5.12 32 21 128.3 155 73 21 26 74 Shelby Miller R 28 6 6 5.08 17 16 83.3 92 47 13 31 70 Chris Martin R 33 3 2 3.74 44 0 43.3 46 18 4 11 35 Tony Barnette R 35 2 1 3.59 38 0 42.7 41 17 3 13 39 Phillips Valdez R 27 6 6 5.08 29 18 111.7 129 63 14 47 73 Matt Bush R 33 3 2 3.83 44 0 44.7 42 19 5 18 43 Doug Fister R 35 6 6 5.00 17 15 86.3 98 48 13 29 56 Clayton Blackburn R 26 5 5 5.03 18 16 87.7 103 49 13 26 58 Kyle Bird L 26 3 3 4.72 45 4 68.7 72 36 8 35 57 Jeffrey Springs L 26 5 5 4.98 44 6 86.7 87 48 15 42 92 Deolis Guerra R 30 3 2 4.31 42 2 54.3 55 26 8 16 50 Jeanmar Gomez R 31 4 3 4.32 54 0 58.3 64 28 6 20 42 Ariel Jurado R 23 8 10 5.57 28 25 145.3 183 90 23 38 65 Edinson Volquez R 35 4 4 5.14 12 12 63.0 70 36 8 32 44 Luke Farrell R 28 6 6 5.34 29 16 91.0 99 54 16 46 81 Nick Gardewine R 25 2 2 4.08 30 0 35.3 34 16 3 15 33 Taylor Hearn L 24 5 6 5.37 23 23 107.3 113 64 18 57 98 Drew Hutchison R 28 6 7 5.52 26 19 109.3 124 67 19 47 85 Joe Palumbo L 24 3 3 5.14 12 11 49.0 54 28 8 20 36 Jonathan Hernandez R 22 7 8 5.57 22 22 103.3 113 64 15 62 83 Michael Tonkin R 29 2 2 4.62 43 0 50.7 52 26 8 20 52 Ricardo Rodriguez R 26 3 3 4.87 45 2 57.3 62 31 8 20 46 Ronald Herrera R 24 5 6 5.42 17 17 91.3 110 55 13 36 46 Connor Sadzeck R 27 3 3 4.74 57 0 49.3 48 26 5 31 47 Tim Dillard R 35 3 3 4.78 25 2 43.3 47 23 5 21 29 Jordan Romano R 26 4 6 5.38 14 14 68.0 71 41 11 32 52 Wei-Chieh Huang R 25 4 5 5.14 38 2 70.0 71 40 11 38 68 Eddie Butler R 28 5 6 5.49 30 14 95.0 114 58 14 38 52 Miguel Del Pozo L 26 3 3 4.97 34 0 41.7 45 23 4 22 32 C.D. Pelham L 24 2 2 5.17 54 0 55.7 57 32 5 39 45 Chris Rowley R 28 7 9 5.85 26 20 120.0 143 78 22 50 72 Wes Benjamin L 25 5 7 6.00 20 19 87.0 106 58 18 34 58 Richelson Pena R 25 6 8 5.96 23 18 108.7 135 72 24 30 65 Jack Leathersich L 28 1 2 5.34 38 0 32.0 28 19 3 31 37 Adam Parks R 26 3 3 5.48 34 0 46.0 51 28 9 19 39 Zac Curtis L 26 3 3 5.28 56 0 59.7 59 35 9 40 60 Tim Lincecum R 35 1 2 5.55 24 0 24.3 27 15 4 15 19 Adam Loewen L 35 3 3 5.40 42 0 45.0 41 27 5 40 47 Kevin Jepsen R 34 2 2 5.81 36 0 31.0 33 20 6 16 23 Chris Tillman R 31 6 8 6.12 22 21 100.0 118 68 17 50 59 Brandon Mann L 35 3 4 5.80 36 3 54.3 59 35 9 32 41 Austin Bibens-Dirkx R 34 5 6 6.16 25 16 99.3 120 68 23 34 69 Ariel Hernandez R 27 3 4 5.74 47 0 53.3 51 34 5 56 50 Rafael Montero R 28 5 7 6.04 26 17 98.3 117 66 18 55 79 Locke St. John L 26 4 5 5.93 37 0 54.7 60 36 12 28 49 Collin Wiles R 25 6 8 6.31 21 20 107.0 135 75 26 28 65 Yohander Mendez L 24 6 9 6.63 30 26 130.3 158 96 33 55 92 Yoel Espinal R 26 3 5 7.29 42 2 54.3 59 44 12 55 52 Pitchers – Rate Stats Player TBF K/9 BB/9 HR/9 BABIP ERA+ ERA- FIP WAR No. 1 Comp Lance Lynn 652 7.77 4.01 1.17 .310 100 100 4.57 1.8 Bill Singer Mike Minor 561 7.35 2.52 1.36 .288 100 100 4.41 1.7 Jarrod Washburn Jose Leclerc 273 12.08 5.54 0.43 .294 148 67 3.07 1.6 Jose Valverde Brock Burke 580 6.94 3.79 1.12 .315 97 103 4.68 1.5 Jake Chapman Martin Perez 570 5.39 3.22 0.98 .307 98 103 4.51 1.5 Jim O’Toole Drew Smyly 429 8.82 2.91 1.73 .308 98 102 4.72 1.2 Cliff Lee Jesse Chavez 322 8.33 2.35 1.29 .297 116 86 3.98 1.0 Terry Leach Brett Martin 405 6.62 3.91 1.00 .312 94 106 4.60 0.9 Josh Shortslef Yovani Gallardo 552 5.66 3.97 1.18 .305 89 113 4.96 0.9 Spec Shea Adrian Sampson 562 5.19 1.82 1.47 .309 88 114 4.90 0.8 John Doherty Shelby Miller 369 7.56 3.35 1.40 .312 91 109 4.69 0.7 Jay Tibbs Chris Martin 186 7.27 2.28 0.83 .313 124 81 3.63 0.7 Bobby Tiefenauer Tony Barnette 181 8.23 2.74 0.63 .306 129 77 3.29 0.7 Barney Schultz Phillips Valdez 509 5.88 3.79 1.13 .313 89 113 4.92 0.7 Bill Swift Matt Bush 193 8.66 3.63 1.01 .296 121 83 4.02 0.7 Jim Hughes Doug Fister 384 5.84 3.02 1.36 .302 90 111 4.99 0.6 Freddie Fitzsimmons Clayton Blackburn 389 5.95 2.67 1.33 .313 89 112 4.78 0.6 Lary Sorensen Kyle Bird 312 7.47 4.59 1.05 .308 98 102 4.71 0.6 Pete Cappadona Jeffrey Springs 388 9.55 4.36 1.56 .308 93 107 4.90 0.5 J.C. Romero Deolis Guerra 232 8.28 2.65 1.33 .301 104 96 4.22 0.5 Jay Tessmer Jeanmar Gomez 256 6.48 3.09 0.93 .312 104 96 4.18 0.5 Frank Linzy Ariel Jurado 650 4.03 2.35 1.42 .309 83 120 5.22 0.5 Bill King Edinson Volquez 288 6.29 4.57 1.14 .307 90 111 5.02 0.5 Tommy Byrne Luke Farrell 416 8.01 4.55 1.58 .310 87 115 5.34 0.5 Mike Buddie Nick Gardewine 155 8.41 3.82 0.76 .304 114 88 3.83 0.4 Mike Hansen Taylor Hearn 490 8.22 4.78 1.51 .305 84 119 5.26 0.4 Phil Dumatrait Drew Hutchison 498 7.00 3.87 1.56 .309 84 119 5.34 0.4 Kevin Hodges Joe Palumbo 220 6.61 3.67 1.47 .301 90 111 5.21 0.4 Kason Gabbard Jonathan Hernandez 483 7.23 5.40 1.31 .309 83 120 5.40 0.4 Ben Hendrickson Michael Tonkin 223 9.24 3.55 1.42 .312 100 100 4.45 0.3 Mark Small Ricardo Rodriguez 253 7.22 3.14 1.26 .307 95 105 4.56 0.3 Robert Tenenini Ronald Herrera 417 4.53 3.55 1.28 .306 83 121 5.34 0.3 Joe Coleman Connor Sadzeck 227 8.57 5.66 0.91 .305 98 102 4.63 0.3 Joe Hudson Tim Dillard 197 6.02 4.36 1.04 .300 94 106 4.90 0.3 Hal White Jordan Romano 309 6.88 4.24 1.46 .290 82 122 5.44 0.2 Ken Pumphrey Wei-Chieh Huang 318 8.74 4.89 1.41 .305 90 111 5.05 0.2 Marc Pisciotta Eddie Butler 433 4.93 3.60 1.33 .308 82 122 5.30 0.1 Marino Pieretti Miguel Del Pozo 192 6.91 4.75 0.86 .313 90 111 4.66 0.1 Brian Adams C.D. Pelham 263 7.28 6.31 0.81 .306 90 112 5.02 0.1 Mike Venafro Chris Rowley 550 5.40 3.75 1.65 .303 79 126 5.76 0.1 Dana Kiecker Wes Benjamin 399 6.00 3.52 1.86 .310 77 129 5.85 -0.1 Jason Cromer Richelson Pena 488 5.38 2.48 1.99 .306 78 129 5.82 -0.1 Ryan Cox Jack Leathersich 155 10.41 8.72 0.84 .305 84 119 5.15 -0.1 Mike Kinnunen Adam Parks 208 7.63 3.72 1.76 .304 85 118 5.43 -0.1 Brian Wolfe Zac Curtis 279 9.05 6.03 1.36 .303 85 117 5.36 -0.1 Scott Wiggins Tim Lincecum 114 7.03 5.55 1.48 .307 81 123 5.70 -0.1 Jerry Johnson Adam Loewen 216 9.40 8.00 1.00 .298 83 120 5.37 -0.1 Marshall Bridges Kevin Jepsen 140 6.68 4.65 1.74 .284 80 125 5.73 -0.2 Ray Moore Chris Tillman 464 5.31 4.50 1.53 .302 76 132 5.80 -0.2 Dick Fowler Brandon Mann 254 6.79 5.30 1.49 .298 78 129 5.78 -0.3 Johnny Klippstein Austin Bibens-Dirkx 450 6.25 3.08 2.08 .305 75 133 5.98 -0.3 Jared Fernandez Ariel Hernandez 266 8.44 9.45 0.84 .303 78 128 5.81 -0.3 Hal Reniff Rafael Montero 464 7.23 5.03 1.65 .321 74 134 5.72 -0.3 Ben Ford Locke St. John 251 8.07 4.61 1.98 .302 78 128 5.91 -0.4 Chad Miles Collin Wiles 481 5.47 2.36 2.19 .306 74 136 6.05 -0.4 John Gardner Yohander Mendez 601 6.35 3.80 2.28 .302 70 143 6.46 -1.0 Doug Lindsey Yoel Espinal 277 8.61 9.11 1.99 .305 64 157 7.36 -1.1 Earl Sanders Disclaimer: ZiPS projections are computer-based projections of performance. Performances have not been allocated to predicted playing time in the majors — many of the players listed above are unlikely to play in the majors at all in 2019. ZiPS is projecting equivalent production — a .240 ZiPS projection may end up being .280 in AAA or .300 in AA, for example. Whether or not a player will play is one of many non-statistical factors one has to take into account when predicting the future. Players are listed with their most recent teams, unless I have made a mistake. This is very possible, as a lot of minor-league signings go generally unreported in the offseason. ZiPS’ projections are based on the American League having a 4.29 ERA and the National League having a 4.15 ERA. Players who are expected to be out due to injury are still projected. More information is always better than less information, and a computer isn’t the tool that should project the injury status of, for example, a pitcher who has had Tommy John surgery. Both hitters and pitchers are ranked by projected zWAR — which is to say, WAR values as calculated by me, Dan Szymborski, whose surname is spelled with a z. WAR values might differ slightly from those which appear in full release of ZiPS. Finally, I will advise anyone against — and might karate chop anyone guilty of — merely adding up WAR totals on a depth chart to produce projected team WAR. We hoped you liked reading 2019 ZiPS Projections – Texas Rangers by Dan Szymborski! Please support FanGraphs by becoming a member. We publish thousands of articles a year, host multiple podcasts, and have an ever growing database of baseball stats. FanGraphs does not have a paywall. With your membership, we can continue to offer the content you've come to rely on and add to our unique baseball coverage. Support FanGraphs