Joc Pederson’s turn in the leadoff spot has run out of gas, and the Rangers have a pretty clean fix staring them in the face: give the job to Cody Freeman.
Skip Schumaker’s lineup choices have started to feel a little too stubborn for a team that needs more than one look. What worked when Pederson was hot and giving Texas quick starts is no longer working now that the production has dried up.
The Rangers don’t need a temporary power experiment at the top of the order anymore. They need someone who can simply get on base.
Pederson has been stuck in a rough stretch for nearly a month, and August has been especially rough. He is 8-for-55 (.145) with 3 home runs and 6 RBI, and he has drawn only 9 walks. That’s not enough traffic at the top of the lineup, and with below-average speed in the mix, the 34-year-old DH/1B has become a poor fit for the leadoff role.
Freeman looks much more like the kind of hitter this Rangers lineup is built around. He owns a .348 OBP and profiles as a better table-setter for Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford, and Brandon Nimmo.
His approach is patient and purposeful, and he brings the sort of leadoff mentality that fits the job: get on, keep the line moving, and let the middle of the order do damage. He also has enough pop to matter beyond just singles and walks.
There’s no denying Freeman is still learning on the fly. He made a costly mistake on the bases Saturday when he was thrown out at home, but that kind of aggressiveness is part of what makes him interesting. He plays with instinct, and the upside is obvious.
Freeman also showed the kind of punch that can play in any spot when he went deep on August 29 against Milwaukee. The blast came off Shane Drohan, left the bat at 100.2 MPH, carried 388 feet to left field, and was described as a home run in 29/30 parks.
If Freeman moves into the 1-hole, Pederson could slide down to fourth or fifth, where any power surge would carry more weight. A solo shot is one thing.
A two- or three-run homer changes the inning. And for a Rangers team still waiting on a grand slam this season, every bit of lineup reshuffling matters.
Schumaker has more than one issue to sort through, but this one is simple enough to handle right away. Texas is close enough to the Astros in the AL West and the Guardians in the race for the final wild-card spot that it can’t afford to let a bad lineup fit linger much longer.
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