Veteran Rangers Pitcher Edges Out Worthy Teammates for Early Team MVP Award

Not much has gone according to plan for the Texas Rangers during the 2025 MLB regular season.

Entering the campaign, many thought they would be legitimate contenders in the American League, bouncing back after a difficult defense of their 2023 World Series last year.

Alas, not much has gone according to plan for the Rangers to this point.

Entering play on May 27, they have a 26-29 record, 4.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for first place in the AL West and three games out of the final Wild Card spot.

To the surprise of many, it has been their offense that has let them down through the first two months of the season.

A lineup that was projected to be amongst the most productive in the sport has fallen woefully short of expectations.

Shortstop Corey Seager cannot stay healthy, but has produced when on the field, something that is expected to take place on Wednesday.

Left fielder Wyatt Langford is an emerging power hitter, looking like a multi-time All-Star with massive earning potential.

What has kept Texas afloat to this point has been the remarkable production of their three-headed monster in the starting rotation; Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle.

All of them have been excellent, but it is Eovaldi who has earned the team’s early MVP award from Andy McCullough of The Athletic (subscription required).

Nathan Eovaldi Has Been Rangers Early Season MVP

“The Rangers are off to a disappointing start because the offense refuses to ignite. But the internal competition for staff ace is a robust one. For now, we’ll give the crown to Eovaldi over Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle. Eovaldi took a hard-luck loss against the Yankees last week but lowered his ERA to 1.60 after six innings of one-run baseball,” McCullough wrote.

There is no incorrect answer when picking out the team’s MVP between that trio; all of them have strong arguments to be made that they are worthy of the distinction through the first two months.

Eovaldi does have a slight edge in fWAR with a team-high 2.5; Mahle is at 2.0 and deGrom sits at 1.8.

Through 11 starts, the veteran has a 1.60 ERA across 67.1 innings with 71 strikeouts. His 0.787 WHIP is the best in the MLB and a +20 Pitching Run Value is in the 100th percentile, per Baseball Savant.

Keeping opponents off the basepaths with an elite 3.5% walk rate has been key to Eovaldi’s success in the early going, as well, to go along with a miniscule 5.9 H/9 ratio.

It was a close race, but he was certainly deserving of the team’s early MVP award.

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