The Rangers have a few injury prone pitchers in the starting rotation so look for them to need a lot of bodies in 2010. 28-year old fireballer Rich Harden was signed to be the #1 starter for the Rangers. He started 26 games for the Cubs last year and he was 9-9 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. He only gave up 122 hits in 141 innings last season for the Rangers while whiffing 171 batters showing what kind of stuff he has. Harden has now pitched in 135 games (127 starts) in his 7 years year in the majors and he is 50-29 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He has only started 30 games 1 time in his major league career so he’s not the most dependable guy around.

27-year old righty Scott Feldman had a breakout year for the Rangers in 2009. He pitched in 34 games (31 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 17-8 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Those numbers came out of the blue as Feldman was pretty much a long reliever until last year. It will be interesting to see if Feldman can keep up the good work in 2010.

26-year old righty Brandon McCarthy is a decent pitcher when healthy. He started 17 games for the Rangers last season and he was 7-4 with a 4.62 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. McCarthy has never started more than 22 games in a season so it would be tough to expect him to start 30+ games in 2010.

30-year old righty Colby Lewis is expected to win a job in the rotation based on his pitching in Japan the last couple of years. He last pitched in the majors in 2007 with the A’s. The Rangers hope that Lewis will be better than he was the first time around for the Rangers. Lewis pitched in 44 games (33 starts) for the Rangers in three years there in which he was 12-13 with a 6.83 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP.

23-year old righty Tommy Hunter will be the #5 starter for the Rangers if healthy. Hunter started 19 games for the Rangers last year and he was 9-6 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He also pitched in 13 games (11 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year in which he was 4-2 with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Rangers are hoping that Hunter can start 30+ games for them in 2010.

21-year old righty Neftali Feliz is the Rangers’ #1 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Feliz pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 1-0 with 2 saves, a 1.74 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP. He only gave up 13 hits in 31 innings last season while whiffing 39 batters. Feliz also pitched in 25 games (13 starts) in AAA-ball last season in which he was 4-6 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Rangers would probably be better served using Feliz as the set-up man out of the pen in 2010 where he can unleash 100+ mph bullets for 1 inning at a time.

23-year old lefty Derek Holland will likely face an uphill battle trying to make the rotation. Holland pitched in 33 games (21 starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 8-13 with a 6.12 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Holland has the stuff to succeed but he needs to learn how to pitch.

24-year old lefty Matt Harrison has also been over his head so far in his major league career. He started 11 games for the Rangers last season and he was 4-5 with a 6.11 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Harrison has now pitched in 26 games in his two years in the majors and he is 13-8 with a 5.76 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP.

28-year old righty Dustin Nippert will likely shuttle between the bullpen and rotation in 2010. Nippert pitched in 20 games (10 starts) for the Rangers last season and he was 5-3 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Before last season Nippert pitched in 61 games (11 starts) in his major league career in which he was 5-8 with a 6.96 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP.

29-year old lefty C.J. Wilson has won the fifth spot in the Rangers’ starting rotation. He pitched in 74 games (0 starts) for the Rangers last season and he is 5-6 with 14 saves, a 2.81 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Wilson only gave up 66 hits in 73 2/3 innings last season while whiffing 84 batters showing how nasty his stuff is. He has pitched 5 years for the Rangers appearing in 258 games (6 starts) in which he was 12-20 with 52 saves, a 4.30 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. It will be interesting to see how well Wilson does when he has to pace himself instead of just letting the ball rip for an inning.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ROTATION IN 2010: C

The Rangers have claimed 25-year old lefty swinging infielder Hernan Iribarren off waivers from the Brewers. Iribarren played in 12 games for the Brewers last season in which he was 3 of 13 (.231 avg, .670 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 105 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 118 of 379 (.311 avg, .774 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 3 homers, 54 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Iribarren now played in 24 games in his major league career in which he is 5 of 27 (.185 avg, .538 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Iribarren will have a chance to compete for a reserve role on the Rangers the rest of the spring.

The Rangers have placed 24-year old righty starting pitcher Eric Hurley on the 60-day disabled list. Hurley is still recovering from a torn rotator cuff that required surgery which kept him out the whole 2009 season. Hurley started 5 games for the Rangers in 2008 in which he was 1-2 with a 5.47 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. The Rangers are going to take it slowly with Hurley as he is one of their better prospects. The reason he was placed on the 60-day D.L. was to make room on the roster for recently claimed infielder Hernan Iribarren.

29-year old righty swinging Nelson Cruz finally found himself last season for the Rangers. He played in 128 games for the Rangers last season in which he was 120 of 462 (.260 avg, .856 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 33 homers, 76 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Cruz could easily be a 30/30 man for the Rangers in 2010 if he remains healthy and focused. Cruz had 3 errors in 120 games in RF for the Rangers last season while showing outstanding range. Cruz also had 11 assists out of RF last season as he has a very strong throwing arm. Cruz is a late bloomer who is making up for lost time.

28-year old lefty swinging David Murphy played in 10 games in RF for the Rangers last season and he made 1 error while showing outstanding range there. Murphy also had a stunning 3 assists in only 10 games in RF last season showing an outstanding throwing arm.

27-year old righty swinging Brandon Boggs is third in line for P.T. in RF in 2010 for the Rangers. Boggs played in 9 games for the Rangers last season in which he was 1 of 17 (.059 avg, .229 OPS). He also played in 93 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 89 of 332 (.268 avg, .778 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 8 homers, 47 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He is a solid defensive player in RF but he didn’t play in any games there in 2009 for the Rangers.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: B+

24-year old lefty swinging Julio Borbon had a breakout season in 2009 for the Rangers and they hope he keeps up the good work in 2010. Borbon played in 46 games for the Rangers last season in which he was 49 of 157 (.312 avg, .790 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 4 homers, 20 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Borbon also played in 96 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 125 of 407 (.307 avg, .753 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 2 homers, 34 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Borbon didn’t make any errors in 4 games in CF for the Rangers last season while showing slightly below average range. Borbon should have no problem in CF as he has the speed to cover it well.

28-year old lefty swinging Josh Hamilton would shift from LF if anything happens to Borbon this year. Hamilton played in 56 error-free games in CF last season for the Rangers while showing slightly below average range. He had 2 assists from CF as he has a pretty strong throwing arm.

27-year old righty swinging Brandon Boggs played in 3 error-free games in CF last season for the Rangers but he showed poor range there. He is #3 in line for playing time in CF this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: B