When the Rangers acquired outfielder David Murphy in the trade of Eric Gagne last July most experts saw Murphy as nothing more than a nice #4 outfielder. But, he has really played well this season and he’s in line to make a run at the Rookie of the Year Award in the American League this year. Murphy has played in 66 games this season for the Rangers and he is 77 of 263 (.293 avg, .721 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 10 homers, 46 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. If Murphy keeps this up the Rangers are going to continue to be a surprise team in the American League West.

It looks like veteran DH/OF might have finally found a home in Texas. The Rangers are very pleased with Bradley’s production as he has played in 59 games this season and he is 70 for 210 (.333 avg, 1.083 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 14 homers, 45 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. But, Bradley needs to be a little bit better of a team player. He should be on the bench instead of watching T.V. when his team is playing the game. That was a problem yesterday as he wanted to go after one of the Royals’ T.V. announcers for essentially telling him to grow up. It seems that Bradley has been a little better in his behavior this season as the Rangers’ have been able to handle him well this season. It’s just that until now Bradley always thought he was way better than he was. If he were performing like Albert Belle of the Indians used to then he might still be with the Expos/Nationals but he never has. After all this is Bradley’s sixth team in 9 years in the majors. He also has never been able to stay healthy as he has only played in more than 101 games 1 time in his major league career. The Rangers have their fingers crossed that Bradley will remain happy and healthy this season as he has been a huge force for them on offense.

Josh Hamilton has been everything that the Rangers expected when they acquired him from the Reds this off season. He was voted as the American League Player of the Month in April. Hamilton has now played in 32 games this season for the Rangers and he is 39 for 130 (.300 avg, .868 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 6 homers and 33 RBIs. Look for him to keep up the good work as long as he can stay healthy because he has such a smooth swing.

Josh Hamilton has been everything the Rangers thought he would be an more so far this season. Hamilton leads the Rangers in hits, homers and RBIs so far this season. In fact, he’s the only Rangers hitter in double figures in RBIs so far this season. Hamilton has played in 19 games so far this year and he is 23 for 77 (.299 avg, .905 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 4 homers and 17 RBIs. The most amazing thing about Hamilton is that he has only whiffed 8 times this season. The sky is the limit for Hamilton this season.

The Rangers have signed 27-year old righty reliever Jason Davis. Davis pitched in 24 games (0 starts) last season for the Mariners and Indians and he was 2-0 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. Davis has now pitched in 130 games (52 starts) in his major league career and he is 20-22 with 1 save, a 4.78 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Signing Davis is a nice low risk/high reward signing as he has an electric fastball.