2015 Rangers Positional Review: No. 4 Starter

With the Rangers' surprising season in the books, let's take a look at the season on a position-by-position basis.

2015 No. 4 starter
The guy: Derek Holland

Holland was projected as the Rangers' No. 2 starter behind Yu Darvish in spring training. Then, Darvish blew out his elbow and missed the season after Tommy John surgery, bumping Holland up to ace, or at least co-ace status with Yovani Gallardo.

Then, in his season debut, Holland lasted one inning before exiting with shoulder tightness that ended up being a sub-scapular strain with the only fix being rest — four months of rest.

By the time Holland returned, it was just in time as he was basically the equivalent of a trade deadline acquisition. His first four starts back with the club in August and September were very good, and after that, he hit a massive wall and tossed four straight stinkers before coming back with his last start of the regular season to beat the Angels in the season's final series.

Then, of course, he totally bombed in his Game 4 start against the Blue Jays to send the series back to Toronto for what turned out to be the last game of the Rangers' season.

He finished the regular season with a 4-3 record and a 4.91 ERA — not what the Rangers were hoping for in his return to the rotation.

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It was an up-and-down year for Holland, but there were more valleys than peaks, and for his overall body of work in 2015, we'll give him a C.

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