The Quest For Back-To-Back World Series Titles Begins for The Rangers

After winning the 2023 World Series, the Texas Rangers are back in action, looking to win back-to-back World Series titles.

While the Rangers might be missing some pieces early, they’ve also got a few young players that could blossom in the regular season.

The Rangers were built to win last year and are, again, built to win this year. However, the Rangers will have to wait until the second half of the season to add Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle, and Max Scherzer to the starting pitching rotation. Meanwhile, the Rangers let Jordan Montgomery walk to the Diamondbacks on a one-year deal after he helped Texas win a World Series last year.

In addition, Nathaniel Lowe will also start the season on the injured list with a strained oblique. But he’s the only position player who won’t start on the Opening Day roster.

After the 2023 World Series ceremony, the Rangers will face the Chicago Cubs in a three-game series. The first one will begin on Thursday, while the others will be played on Saturday and Sunday.

The Cubs re-signed Cody Bellinger but didn’t make major adjustments to last year’s starting lineup. The other key move was the addition of Shota Imanaga to the starting rotation. Imanaga is a Japanese pitcher who came from the NPB. Jameson Taillon will start the season on the IL with lower back tightness and won’t start for the Cubs immediately.

Third basemen Patrick Wisdom is also out with back discomfort. Still, the Cubs still feel like they’ll be near the top of the National Baseball League standings.

Now that you’re all caught up, the season’s first game between the Cubs and Rangers has odds out. When looking at the Cubs vs Rangers odds, the Rangers are slight favorites against the Cubs, with a total of eight. However, the Over is favored in this matchup.

We’ll talk all about the Cubs vs Rangers odds in our series preview below.

You’ll Have to Wait for Shota Imanaga’s Debut

The Cubs have announced that Shota Imanaga won’t debut in this first series against the Rangers. Instead, he’ll get to debut when the Cubs come back home for its Opening Day game against the Rays on Monday.

Imanaga was a highly sought-after Japanese pitcher. He’s already 30 years old and didn’t look incredible during Spring Training. But the Cubs are helping him adjust and didn’t want to put any pressure on him on the road.

They’d rather give him the start at home with fans cheering him.

Welcome to the Big Leagues, Wyatt Langford

Wyatt Langford was hitting baseballs for the Florida Gators at this time last year. He was a junior in the SEC and quickly became a hot commodity with every at-bat at Florida.

The Gators made it deep into the College Baseball World Series, but Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes escaped Florida and won the College Baseball World Series with the LSU Tigers.

Crews and Skenes were first and second picks and high on the MLB rankings for prospects. Langford was fourth. But he’ll be the first one to experience the MLB after the Rangers selected him in the most recent MLB Draft. Texas can’t stop raving about how good Langford is, and he has already been put on the opening-day roster.

In Florida, he had an OPS of 1.217 in 610 plate appearances. Last year, in the minors, he hit an OPS of 1.157. In Spring Training, he finished with a 1.161 OPS in 63 plate appearances. He seems ready for us.

Cubs vs Rangers Odds Game 1: RL Rangers (+175), ML Rangers -110, O/U 8 -118/-102

The Cubs will pitch Justin Steele for the first game of the series. Steele really broke out last season, going 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA. He was 6th in the MLB in ERA but also had 176 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.17.

The lefty struggled towards the end of last season, allowing 15 runs in his final 14.1 innings. Heading into mid-September, he had an ERA of 2.49 with only three starts left on the schedule. But those 15 runs bumped his ERA above 3.

He’ll face Nathan Eovaldi of the Rangers. Eovaldi got back on track last year and finished with a 3.63 ERA. He had a better WHIP of 1.14 and struck out 132 batters in 144 innings pitched. He had more innings in the postseason and also finished with a 2.95 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched in the postseason.

His pitching helped the Rangers win a World Series. Eovaldi pitched at least six innings in all but one start, but the Rangers won each game he started in the playoffs last year.

In Game 2, Kyle Hendricks will get the call for the Cubs. Hendricks won’t blow anyone away with velocity, but he still had a 3.74 ERA last year in 137 innings pitched. The WHIP can get high sometimes, but he’s a veteran pitcher who just knows how to manage a game when on the mound. He’s also been a lifelong Cubs pitcher since 2014. The loyalty never goes unnoticed by the Cubs.

He’ll face Jon Gray of the Rangers, who only threw 5.2 innings in the postseason. He was more inconsistent but will get the nod in Game 2.

Jordan Wicks started seven games in 2023 as a rookie. He finished with a 4.41 ERA and struck out only 24 batters in 34.2 innings. The Cubs are hoping he develops this season.

He’ll pitch against a left-handed thrower in Andrew Heaney. Heaney had some good moments last year but also wasn’t heavily relied on in the MLB postseason. He only added 11 innings pitched but came up big against the Diamondbacks in a spot start during the World Series. He went five innings, allowed one run, and got the win to help the Rangers earn a World Series title. His spot in the rotation isn’t locked in for the second half. He’ll need to prove himself in the first half this season after below average MLB stats last year.

For MLB picks, betting odds, analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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