27-year old righty starting pitcher Scott Feldman looked like a pitcher ready to break out in 2009. In 2009, Feldman 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. But this season Feldman is pitching a lot of batting practice. He has started 12 games for the Rangers this year and he is 3-6 with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. He has given up 90 hits (9 homers) in only 70 2/3 innings this year. He could even be in danger of losing his spot in the starting rotation if he doesn’t improve soon.

30-year old righty Frank Francisco has been so bad so far this season that the Rangers are going to replace him as the closer with Neftali Feliz. Francisco has pitched in 3 games for the Rangers this season and he is 1-2 with a 27.00 ERA and a 5.00 WHIP! He has given up 8 hits in only 2 innings pitched so far this season! Neftali Feliz pops the ball into triple digits quite a lot so he has the stuff to dominate in the 9th inning. He has pitched in 3 games for the Rangers this season and he is 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. He has whiffed 5 batters in only 2 1/3 innings this season for the Rangers. Feliz has good enough stuff to close as long as he keeps his head on straight.

Tommy Hunter certainly looks the part of a major league pitcher as he is a big guy that throws a really good fastball but major league batters are teeing off on him. Hunter has started 3 games for the Rangers this season and he is 0-2 with a 16.36 ERA and a 2.36 WHIP. Hunter has been bombarded for 23 hits and 4 homers in only 11 innings this season and the Rangers really should consider sending him back to AAA before he loses all of his confidence.

The Rangers need Franklyn German and Joaquin Benoit to start throwing strikes. Both of these guys have great stuff but it won’t matter if they continue to walk batters as often as they currently are. German has pitched in 9 games this season for the Rangers and he is 0-0 with a 0.82 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. German has only allowed 6 hits in 11 innings this season but he has walked an amazing 10. His ERA will rise very soon if he can’t get the ball over the plate. Joaquin Benoit has not been near as lucky as German has. He has pitched in 9 games this season for the Rangers and he is 1-1 with a 7.56 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. Benoit has only allowed 7 hits in 8.1 innings this season but he has also walked 10 batters. The Rangers can’t afford to let Benoit pitch late in games if he can’t get the ball over the plate.

The Rangers are currently in last place in the American League West with a 7-12 record which has them 4.5 games behind both the Angels & A’s. Part of the reason for that record is the awful performance they have gotten out of Jason Jennings and Luis Mendoza. Jennings seems to have lost a lot of velocity off his fastball which has been topping out at about 87 miles per hour. He has started 4 games this season and he is 0-3 with a 7.08 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Rookie righty Luis Mendoza has been even worse than Jennings so far this season. Mendoza has started 2 games this season and he is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.38 WHIP. The Rangers might consider putting Jamey Wright into one of the rotation spots in question, but he’s been really good out of the bullpen so far this season. In 8 games out of the pen this season, Wright is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.