Jul 26, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A hat and glove of a Texas Rangers player during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Four Rangers That Have Been Surprising Standouts Through First Half of 2025

Originally posted on Texas Rangers on SI
By Dylan Sanders | Last updated Jul 10, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Texas Rangers have seen some disappointing campaigns across their roster, but it hasn't all been bad. Some players have been surprising standouts in a good way as well.

Thanks mostly to great starting pitching, the Rangers are just a couple of games outside of a AL Wild Card spot.

To close that gap, they will need some veterans to step up on offense and these surprise stars to keep playing like they have been:

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RHP Tyler Mahle

Mahle hasn't pitched since June 10 and he won't be back until at least August due to a shoulder injury. But he deserves a shoutout for just how good he was pitching when healthy. Without him, the season could be in a much worse spot.

The 30-year-old has posted a 2.34 ERA across 14 starts this year with a 1.130 WHIP. He has had complete control over his location this season and has had great success with his fastballs and splitter because of it.

UTIL Josh Smith

Smith had a breakout campaign last year, but it sort of came out of nowhere. The surprise this time around isn't that he's good. It's that he's not only repeated that success, but gotten better as well.

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Through 49 games this season, he has posted a .284/.358/.426 slash line with eight home runs and eight stolen bases. He's striking out less, walking a bit more and hitting with a bit more power.

He was already a very versatile defender last year, but he has gotten better there as well.

LHP Robert Garcia

Back this winter, Texas pulled off a bit of a shocking move in trading first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to the Washington Nationals in exchange for Garcia.

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It was a part of their bullpen rebuild and it was clear that the Rangers were banking a lot on the potential that Garcia had shown in the past couple of years.

The 29-year-old has been even better than advertised with a 2.86 ERA over his first 40 appearances with 36 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. He's also under team control through 2029, giving them a great southpaw reliever for the forseeable future.