Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections are a good measure of what to expect from players in the upcoming baseball season. We'll take a look at the Rangers' projections on a position-by-position basis. Szymborski can be found on Twitter at @DSzymborski.
Today we'll look at the projections for the Rangers in the No. 2 starting pitcher role, which appears to be Derek Holland after he missed the majority of the 2014 season and left a hole in the Rangers' rotation.
Holland: 22 starts, 131 1/3 innings, 3.97 ERA, 7.81 K/9 IP, 114 strikeouts, 38 walks, 16 home runs allowed
The 22 starts would be concerning, as it would suggest some more DL time for Holland in 2014, but nothing too significant. Holland was phenomenal in his one month of action in 2014 when he returned from a five-month stint on the DL to pitch lights out in September and give the Rangers hope that he can finally be that top-end starting pitcher that they've pinned their hopes on for years.
You'd like to see Holland's ERA stay in the mid-3.00s, and if it can, it'd be a huge boost for the Rangers' rotation which actually looks pretty solid with the Yovani Gallardo trade after it was recently seen as a giant question mark.
