In a Friday staple, we'll discuss who's in a groove and who's in a rut for the Texas Rangers.
Who's On?
David Murphy — This has been a long time coming, and while Murphy is still playing on a part-time basis, he's getting the majority of the time in left field and is starting to come around at the plate after an awful start over the first month and a half. In his last 18 at-bats, he's hitting .389 with two home runs, two walks and a double. Getting production out of him will be huge for the Rangers' new-look offense.
Adrian Beltre — Hitting in 11 of his last 30 at-bats, it's safe to say Beltre is officially out of the slump that plagued him for the first month of the season, not to mention his three homers and eight RBIs over the last week (second only to Nelson Cruz in both categories over that time).
Leonys Martin — Leaving the suddenly always-hot Mitch Moreland off the list this week, Martin is starting to come into his own as an everyday big-leaguer, getting most of the playing time recently in center. He's 6-for-19 over the last week with a triple, a homer and three stolen bases. He's also shown the cannon with deadly accuracy he has attached to his right shoulder.
Who's Not?
Ian Kinsler — He's hitting just .192 in his last six games and had a rough night on Thursday night, getting plunked and serving up some comedic, yet scary, gold when he face-planted into third base on an attempted head-first slide with no throw coming.
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Nelson Cruz — Has he had some huge hits? No doubt. Over the last week he leads the team with four home runs and nine RBIs. But he's also hitting just .227 over that span and has a team-leading eight strikeouts.
