Texas Rangers vs Kansas City Royals Prediction & Betting Tips - MLB Spring Training

Prediction published on 22/02/2024, 04:21  by Matthew Newman | Modified on 23/02/2024 at 06:05 in Baseball Predictions

The defending World Series Champion Texas Rangers will play for the first time since lifting the trophy, taking on the Kansas City Royals on Friday. From a batting point of view, the Rangers will look very similar to how they did when they won the World Series. The notable loss is Mitch Garver who was the designated hitter which should be an easy position for them to fill without causing any sleepless nights. The big issue that they will have for the first half of the season is their starting rotation. Max Scherzer, Jacob DeGrom and Tyler Mahle will all be missing for the first few months so the pressure will be on the likes of Nate Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney to give the team a chance to win.

It has been a while since the Royals were competitive, failing to make the postseason in the eight years since winning the World Series in 2015. They have one of the most dynamic young players in the game in Bobby Witt Jr who has set serious numbers in his first two seasons as well as Salvador Perez behind the plate, one of the finest catchers in the game. The addition of Hunter Renfroe gives the batting order some more pop, hitting 26+ home runs in five of the last seven seasons. They have added a veteran presence in their starting rotation with Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo who could give the team a better chance to win.