ESPN's Dan Szymborski is a computer and stat guru, and we love getting a look at his projections. Here are his numbers for the 2014 Texas Rangers.
Position: Setup man
Player: Tanner Scheppers, RHP
Last year: 1.88 ERA, 6-2 record, 76 2/3 innings, 59 strikeouts, 24 walks
2014 projections: 3.75 ERA, 72 innings, 59 strikeouts, 21 walks
Scheppers had a fantastic season last year, and about the hardest he got hit all year was that fateful night in Cleveland when he got himself a black eye in that weird mugging incident. He burst onto the scene, finally living up to his hype and potential as one of the most lively arms in the Rangers system. He was one of the league's premier setup men and found his way on to the fan vote portion of the AL all-star team ballot. The one concern with Scheppers is his strikeout ratio, which was a very pedestrian 6.9 per 9 innings last season, an awfully low number for a late reliever. He made it work last year, and it'll be interesting to see if he can do the same in 2014.
