Outfielder Max Clark has a .749 OPS. In Low-Class A.
You’re Detroit.
Three Up, Three Down from Texas 6, Kansas City 0.
Up First.
From two nights ago, after the Wyatt-Langford-MF’s-Mets-catcher-Francisco-Alvarez game:
It’s funny. This afternoon, in a game that saw both teams hit screamers into outs all day — through seven innings, 10 balls were hit more than 95.2 mph and every one of those was an out — the Rangers opened the scoring with a relatively softly hit Josh Smith home run in the fourth inning and padded the lead with a 30-foot tapper in front of the plate by Adolis Garcia.
But . . . then.
Then Nathaniel Lowe, down in the count, 1-2, worked a walk. The bases were loaded.
Then Langford fell behind, 0-2. He then took a pitch inside, and let a slider settle beneath the zone. He next fought off a well-located sinker that caught the corner low and away. He fouled off a changeup away. Angel Zerpa was about to throw his 23rd pitch of the inning.
We talked yesterday about how the Rangers were hitting a startlingly anemic .203/.287/.216 (.503 OPS) as a team with the bases loaded in 2024 — before Marcus Semien’s bases-clearing double hiked that slash line to .213/.296/.240 (.536 OPS).
It’s now .224/.303/.289 (.592 OPS).
Langford hit the seventh pitch of his battle with Zerpa, an 89.4-mph slider bearing in on his hands, 108.5 mph and 415 feet away. It was obviously Langford’s first major-league grand slam. It was unobviously the Rangers’ first grand slam of 2024.
What an at-bat. I’m having a hard time not thinking about him hitting third, protecting Corey Seager in the lineup (and also catching him on the bases an inopportune time or two).
Please think about this for a second:
Remember who the American League Player of the Month was in April 2023? In May 2023?
It was Josh Jung, both months.
At the end of May, Gunnar Henderson was hitting .201/.332/.370 (.702 OPS), with five home runs in 184 plate appearances.
Henderson ended up winning Rookie of the Year — and landed the Orioles a bonus compensatory first-round pick, No. 32 overall next month, as a result.
Langford was hitting .222/.288/.286 (.573 OPS) through May 2024 — and now, through 211 plate appearances, he’s hitting .254/.313/.368 (.681 OPS).
There’s no reason to rule out a Rookie of the Year award.
Up Second.
I was a little surprised Jon Gray was lifted after six innings, before realizing he’d thrown only 37, 65, and 55 pitches in his three outings since returning from the injured list. He breezed today through those six frames, needing only 72 pitches (51 strikes), and in a one-run game in which Jake Latz and Jose Urena were the first two relievers to get up, I was a bit nervous that Gray was done.
Especially given how good he’d been, albeit with some really sturdy outfield defense: he retired the first eight Royals, then gave up back-to-back singles to Garrett Hampson and Adam Frazier (off Lowe’s glove), and then retired the next 10 straight to finish his work. It turned out just fine, as Latz and David Robertson held things in check until Langford blew the game open.
Gray was really exceptional today. Definitely no pitch-tipping.
Up Third.
With his home run and single today, Josh Smith now has the ninth-highest OPS (.862) in the American League. The third-highest batting average (.304) and fourth-highest on-base percentage (.393).
His bomb today came on a 3-2 inside changeup. Just a great piece of hitting, and that’s becoming normal.
One Down.
Believe it’s time for someone to launch the Rangers cousin of the “Did Dwight Powell get hit in the face tonight?” Twitter account:
“Did Josh Smith’s helmet fly off tonight?”
It looks like @JoshsHelmet is available.
Let’s go.
Two Down.
Brock Burke punching a wall on April 12, fracturing his hand, was a bad moment.
He’s looked fantastic since returning, throwing 2 ⅔ hitless innings against Seattle a week ago, fanning four and walking one, and then punching out both Hampson and Vinnie Pasquantino in a scoreless ninth today and, in between, getting Bobby Witt Jr. to pop out after a Nelson Velasquez single.
This is the Burke who was so good in 2022. Glad he’s back; hate that he missed two months.
Three Down.
Tough stretch for Jonah Heim, who, since topping out at .300 on May 8, is hitting .149 in 124 plate appearances.
To repeat: Heim is such a huge benefit to the pitching staff, and you can live with the subpar offense. But he’s a much better hitter than this.
Due Up.
Second series win this month, after the Dodgers series on the road. It’s also the final home series of the month; the final home series of May was a sweep of the Diamondbacks.
#STDS.
With Langford heating up and Jung’s return imminent, does Josh Smith become trade bait for a lucrative return?
While he certainly has great value for a team in a pennant race, his numbers so far this year seem to demonstrate his value when he plays every day. With his progress blocked here except at DH, his bat and glove would have to look enticing to a team who thinks they are an infielder away from being a championship contender. His value may never be higher.
Go Rangers !!!!!!