29-year old lefty swinging outfielder David Murphy is having a rough time so far in 2011. Coming into this season, Murphy played in 440 games in his first five years in the majors and he was 393 for 1,393 (.282 avg, .802 OPS) with 200 runs scored, 47 homers, 212 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. The Rangers thought that Murphy would keep on rolling along in 2011, but it hasn’t been the case. Murphy has played in 86 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 68 for 280 (.243 avg, .637 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 5 homers, 23 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Rangers are still holding out hope that Murphy will finish the 2011 season strongly.

Starting 2B Ian Kinsler isn’t hitting much lately after getting off to a fast start to the 2011 season. Kinsler is only 5 for 30 (.167 avg) in his last 8 games and he has 5 runs scored, 3 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Kinsler has now played in 35 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 29 for 133 (.218 avg, .744 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 5 homers, 15 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Rangers need Kinsler to get back on the right track with Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz out of the lineup due to injury.

The Rangers need starting CF Julio Borbon to get his act together. He has played in 6 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 4 for 18 (.222 avg, .744 OPS) with 1 run scored, 2 triples and 3 RBIs. Borbon has outstanding speed but it doesn’t really matter if he can’t get on base. Borbon has also had issues on D as he has looked lost in CF since spring training. The Rangers need Borbon to pick up his game because they don’t want to have to use Josh Hamilton in CF. Still, with David Murphy playing as well as he is right now he is pushing Borbon for P.T. Murphy has played in 4 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 5 for 12 (.417 avg, 1.250 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

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.

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.