We've been saying it for months now, but we'll say it again: The Rangers have some really tough decisions coming up in their near future, but they're all the good kind of decision that any team would be envious of having to make.
They have the best record in the American League and the second-best record in all of baseball behind the unbeatable Cubs, and they just got their ace pitcher back after a 15-month layoff.
Oh, and they're close to getting their leadoff hitter back who's only played in six games this year with the underlying question of did the Rangers just find an even better leadoff hitter who happens to be 23 years old and can play just about every position on the field.
So where do the Rangers stand in terms of long-term prognosis this season? Here's a hint: It's scary for every other team in baseball.
Jon Daniels told 105.3 The Fan he thinks the Rangers can still get a lot better.
"It's getting Choo back and continuing to lengthen out the lineup and the approach that he brings in grinding pitchers and making it that much tougher," Daniels said. "I think we had tremendous play from our catchers, but getting Robinson Chirinos back is going to be a shot in the arm. He hasn't been as durable as you'd like, but if you look at what he does on an at-bat for at-bat level, one of the most well-rounded guys in the league. He's a very good player.
"To have Keone Kela and Tanner Scheppers coming back at some point here, whether it's a second half run or even a little before that, you get two big power arms, fresh guys come back. That's exciting. A.J. Griffin, if we get him back. As we talked about, Joey Gallo and some other unsung guys like Brett Nicholas or Drew Robinson if we need to go there. There's a lot of interesting things going on, a lot of things we are proud of. The big thing is some of the main guys on the club, Desmond, Mazara and Adrian, they've kept these guys so focused to keep us at this point where we have a chance to have one of the better starts in club history."
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