Texas Rangers Utility Man Named 'Biggest Difference-Maker' Amid Hot Start

The Texas Rangers have gotten off to a nice start to this season despite a middling performance from the offense. They have at least one standout player to thank for keeping them afloat.

Levi Weaver of The Athletic gave third baseman/utility man Josh Smith a shoutout as their biggest early "difference-maker" thanks to his strong early results.

The pitching deserves the most credit for the early start, but Smith has been the biggest difference-maker on the offensive and defensive sides.

Among position players, he is tied for the team lead in fWAR with the currently injured Wyatt Langford. While many would expect Langford to be up there, Smith is a bit more surprising.

The former LSU Tigers star has a .308/.438/.500 slash line through his first 32 plate appearances with one home run.

He doesn't hit for much power but gets on base at a fantastic rate. His 18.8% walk rate is tied for 11th in the league for players with at least 30 plate appearances.

That patience at the plate has been very promising. He was below league average last year, so this has been a big jump. It will be interesting to see if he can keep it up.

Another big advancement in the game so far is that he has stolen three bases. He has been much more aggressive on the base paths, another important thing for someone who doesn't carry much pop in his bat.

Despite batting in the bottom half of the order, he leads the team in runs scored, thanks to his ability to put himself in spots to succeed.

As mentioned before, there are a handful of pitchers that also deserve a little bit of shine for their early starts. Smith is just the biggest difference-maker, as his production is a bit more surprising and has been harder to come by on offense for the Rangers.

Jack Leiter has brought his strong spring into the regular season, as he leads the rotation with a 0.90 ERA. His velocity has stayed up and his new sinker is working wonders.

Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle have also stepped up and have sub-2.30 ERAs in the rotation. The bullpen has been solid as well.

Texas has had one of the best pitching staffs in MLB, but its offense has an OPS+ of 84. That's why Smith has been so important so far.

The ideal third baseman of the future in Josh Jung has also looked good to start the year. Perhaps the Rangers could shift the team around a bit to get both of them more involved.