23-year old righty starting pitcher Tommy Hunter started this season on the D.L. as he injured himself in spring training. He then had a long rehab process. But he’s back with the vengeance for the Rangers. He has started 5 games this season for the Rangers and he is 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. In his last two years with the Rangers, Hunter has pitched in 24 games (all starts) in which he is 13-6 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. The sky is the limit for Hunter if he can just stay healthy.

39-year old lefty reliever Darren Oliver and 27-year old righty reliever Darren O’Day have been putting a lot of zeroes on the scoreboard for the Rangers this season. Oliver has pitched in 32 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this season and he is 0-1 with 1 save, a 1.27 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. He has only given up 21 hits in 35 1/3 innings while whiffing 40 batters and only walking 7! Those are amazing numbers and the Rangers think he can keep up the good work. O’Day has pitched in 33 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this season and he is 3-2 with a 1.84 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He has only given up 21 hits and walked 5 batters in 29 1/3 innings for the Rangers this season. Oliver and O’Day have been dominating usually working in the 6th and 7th innings to set things up for Frank Francisco and Neftali Feliz at the end of games.

The Rangers have released 34-year old righty swinging catcher Toby Hall. Hall only played in 1 game (in Rookie Ball) for the Rangers this year and he was 0 for 2 (.000 avg) with 1 RBI. This could be the end of his major league career as he still has a bum shoulder. Hall has played in 686 games in his nine years in the majors and he is 616 of 2,350 (.262 avg, .671 OPS) with 211 runs scored, 46 homers and 269 RBIs.

28-year old righty swinging 2B Ian Kinsler got off to a late start this year due to a ankle injury but he’s still not looking like himself in the field. He has played in 43 games for the Rangers this season and he is 44 of 160 (.275 avg, .732 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Kinsler was outstanding last season for the Rangers in which he played in 144 games and was 143 of 566 (.253 avg, .814 OPS) with 101 runs scored, 31 homers, 86 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. The Rangers have played well this season without the real Ian Kinsler. So if the real Kinsler shows up soon look for the Rangers to really get rolling.

29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Josh Hamilton had a year to forget in 2009 for the Rangers. He played in 89 games for the Rangers last season in which he was 90 of 336 (.268 avg, .741 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 10 homers, 54 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Hamilton has been on fire with the bat this season. He has played in 61 games for the Rangers this year and he is 75 of 243 (.309 avg, .934 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 15 homers, 46 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Rangers need Hamilton to stay healthy on the field and sober off of it as he had relapse last season which could have led to him having an off year.