The Rangers have activated 27-year old righty reliever Mark Lowe from the D.L. He has missed all of this season until right now after undergoing back surgery. Lowe came along from the Mariners in the Cliff Lee deal. Lowe looked good in his first game with the Rangers working a scoreless inning in which he allowed 1 hit and whiffed 2 batters. He has now pitched in 163 games (0 starts) in his five years in the majors and he is 5-15 with 4 saves, a 3.93 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Lowe has nasty stuff and he will prove to be way more than a throw in down the road.

The Rangers will be without 30-year old righty reliever Frank Francisco for at least the first round of the playoffs due to a ribs injury. Francisco pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Rangers during the regular season and he was 6-4 with 2 saves, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He whiffed 60 batters in only 52 2/3 innings while allowing only 49 hits this year showing how nasty he can be. The Rangers have a lot of depth in the bullpen to cover for Francisco.

29-year old starting LF Josh Hamilton is trying to get ready for the playoffs despite having some fractured ribs. The Rangers hope he will be ready to go next week when the playoffs start. Hamilton has played in 130 games for the Rangers this year and he is 183 of 507 (.361 avg, 1.049 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 31 homers, 97 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Hamilton leads the majors in both batting average and OPS as he is one of the front runners for the MVP Award in the A.L. Hamilton has played in 375 games in his three years with the Rangers and he is 463 of 1,467 (.316 avg, .916 OPS) with 235 runs scored, 73 homers, 281 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. The Rangers need Hamilton healthy so they can beat the Yankees or Rays in the first round of the playoffs next week.

22-year old righty swinging shortstop Elvis Andrus was expected to take a step up offensively in 2010 but he has regressed in his second year in Texas. Andrus has played in 138 games for the Rangers this year and he is 148 of 551 (.269 avg, .652 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 0 homers, 35 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. His OPS has dropped quite a bit as Andrus has turned into little more than a singles hitter with no power. The Rangers need more out of Andrus offensively if he’s going to continue to be the starting shortstop of this team.

22-year old righty reliever Neftali Feliz burst onto the scene for the Rangers last year. He pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Rangers in 2009 in which he was 1-0 with 2 saves, a 1.74 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP. He gave up only 13 hits in 31 innings last season with 39 whiffs often showing off a 100 mph fastball. Feliz bumped Frank Francisco out of the closer’s job early this year and he kept it. Feliz has pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this year and he is 3-3 with 36 saves, a 3.05 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. It appears as if the Rangers have finally found a true shutdown closer.