From: Tom Pennington (Getty Images)

The Houston Astros have ran the AL West since 2017. Houston has enjoyed sustained success atop of the division, and it has led to six straight ALCS appearances and four World Series appearances, with two titles. Heading into 2023, it was looking like it was going to be another year of dominance for the 'Stros. If anyone was to catch them, it would be the Seattle Mariners right? Wrong, the Texas Rangers have put themselves in the driving seat in the AL West, and they are not going to want to give that up anytime soon.

From: David J. Phillip (AP Photo)

Offseason Acquisitions:

It's no doubt that the Rangers have made it a priority to try to contend for both the playoffs and the World Series. Over the past two years, they have given deals to Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jacob Degrom, Jon Gray, and Nathan Eovaldi. Let's take a look at how much Texas has spent recently:

Corey Seager: 10 years, $325 Million ($32.5 Million AAV)

Marcus Semien: 7 years, $175 Million ($25 Million AAV)

Jon Gray: 4 years, $56 Million ($14 Million AAV)

Jacob Degrom: 5 years, $185 Million ($37 Million AAV)

Nathan Eovaldi: 2 years, $34 Million ($17 Million AAV)

Spending $775 Million in two off-season's means you should be vastly improving your roster, but we were not ready for some of the seasons these Free Agents have been having. The middle infield duo of Seager and Semien has been one of the best in baseball. Seager missed time with a strained hamstring, but when he has been in the lineup, he has raked. The shortstop currently boasts a slash line of .352/.403/.617. Semien has been no slouch either, and has been a mainstay at the top of the lineup all year. The Texas second baseman is top five in RBIs with 51 so far this season, and shows no signs of slowing down.

The rotation pieces Texas has acquired took their time to get going, but the staff is firing on all cylinders as we head into the meat of the MLB schedule. Jon Gray struggled in his first year outside of Coors Field which led to regression, but he has looked the part in his second year with Texas, putting up a 2.32 ERA with a .96 WHIP. Nathan Eovaldi has turned in a Cy Young caliber season so far, dominating lineups in his past 10 starts. Eovaldi has put together a 2.49 ERA, 2.95 xERA, and a 2.61 FIP, so the advanced metrics back up the righty's season. Jacob Degrom recently found out his season would be over due to Tommy John surgery, but in 30 innings with the Rangers, Degrom was dominant, showcasing a 2.67 ERA and a 1.82 xERA.

From: John Froschauer (Associated Press)

Homegrown Talent:

The Rangers have not taken a lead in the division on free agency alone. Texas was patient with their farm system, and it is finally paying off for them. Adolis Garcia, a trade acquisition from the Cardinals while he was still a prospect, is second in RBIs with 54. Josh Jung has quietly put together a potential AL ROY case, as the third baseman has done nothing but hit in his first year at the big league level. Jung is currently on pace for around 30 home runs and 85 RBIs, while hitting .286/.335/.508. Leody Tavares has been knocking on the door for a while, but has finally broken through as a consistent piece in the Rangers lineup. Ezequiel Duran has been an on base machine with a .368 OBP through 45 games. Nathaniel Lowe was another buy low piece from Tampa Bay, and has grown into one of the best power hitting first baseman during his first full years in the MLB.

Martín Pérez, a pitcher brought up through the Texas system, finally found his way back to the Rangers after bouncing around a couple teams in free agency. Pérez has been aging like fine wine into his early thirties, pitching to a sub-four ERA in both seasons back in Texas, creating a consistent role every fifth day. The bullpen is a collection of both veteran arms and young guns looking for a shot in the big leagues. While they have not been great, the pen has not been called upon to uplift the team due to the overpowering nature of the offense.

From: Aaron Doster (AP Photo)

The Manager:

In what was Chris Young's first year with the Rangers, he fired the manager Chris Woodword. There were plenty of rumors on where Texas would go, but Young decided to pry Bruce Bochy out of retirement. The longtime Giants manager won three titles with his former club, and decided to come back to coaching to take over the Rangers. The value of a good manager is hard to quantify, but many around the organization have raved about Bochy since he's gotten to Arlington.

Will It Last?

The Rangers have come out of the gates hot in 2023. While there is always the case that it is a flash in the pan, Corey Seager's IL stint is a great barometer for what this Rangers team could be in the future. The Rangers were fine when Seager hit the IL, and now that he's back, Seager has slotted into the lineup seamlessly as Texas continues to avalanche pitchers. The Rangers are 5 games ahead of the Astros in the AL West race, and show no signs of slowing down. This Texas team is for real, and they are coming for not only a division title, but a pennant, and a possible World Series.