Wednesday Newsletter time: Is John Hicks creating a log jam behind the plate for Rangers?
The 31-year-old homered again and delivered a clutch RBI single for Texas in a 10-5 victory over Detroit.
Jose Trevino is eligible to come off the injured list Friday. Jonah Heim has found something at the plate. They have been the Texas Rangers’ catchers all season.
John Hicks, though, is making a case that he should get a look behind the plate.
Hicks became the first player in franchise history to hit four home runs in his four first four games with the team. He hit a two-run homer in a four-run fourth inning and delivered a tie-breaking single in the seventh as the Rangers beat Detroit 10-5.
Manager Chris Woodward said afterward that Hicks might be hard to take out of the lineup, let alone ship back to Triple A Round Rock.
“A real hard time,” Woodward said. “The homer, obviously, but the two-strike hit to left … I don’t know what to say. This guy’s been a spark since he came up.”
(UPDATE: Hicks and Heim were both in the lineup Wednesday, with Hicks at designated hitter. Woodward said Trevino won’t be activated from the IL until after the All-Star break.)
In a season in which Adolis Garcia has emerged as an All-Star as a 28-year-old rookie, the Rangers can’t say a player isn’t a part of their future. It seems unlikely that Hicks, 31, is going to unseat Trevino, Heim or Sam Huff long-term, but there’s no homer in finding that out for sure.
“It’s been a really good week,” he said. “I’ve felt good at the plate, and as a team we’ve been playing all right. I’ve gotten good pitches to hit, and fortunately hit them well enough to get over the fence.”
Development vs. winning
Ever since Dane Dunning was acquired in December, throughout spring training and as his regular-season starts piled up, the Rangers have stayed committed to limiting how many innings he would throw this season.
Dunning is in his first full MLB season. He pitched in 2020 but was coming off Tommy John surgery. The Rangers don’t want to put Dunning at risk for another injury by loading him up with too many innings.
That’s why the Rangers selected to put John King in a piggyback situation with Dunning as they try to stretch out the left-hander for a crack at starting a few games after opening the season in the bullpen.
Dunning was lifted Tuesday after allowing one run on one hit in five innings. He needed only 64 pitches.
“I asked Skip if I could get another inning, but, unfortunately, they didn’t let me go,” Dunning said. “They have a plan for me, and I trust them completely.”
King entered and promptly surrendered a 5-1 lead, allowing a solo homer in the sixth and a three-run shot in the seventh. He needed 49 pitches to record six outs in his worst outing of the season.
“Guys are allowed to have bad days,” Woodward said.
If it looked like the Rangers were prioritizing development over winning, well, you’re not wrong. It worked out in the end, but it just isn’t a very good look.
Dunning, by the way, is at 79 innings this season and likely won’t pitch again until after the All-Star break. The Rangers have never announced an innings target for Dunning, but it’d be a surprise if they let him go past 150 innings or 100 pitches in game.
Woodward said he keeps telling Dunning that day is coming. It could come later this season, depending on how the innings mount, but it might not.
“I don’t know if that’s this year,” Woodward said. “But I look forward to that day.”
Running in anonymity
The fool who ran onto the field late in the game Tuesday night did so without any camera time, as the TV broadcast did not show him running around and punching his ticket to the clink.
You could hear the Globe Life Field crowd loudly cheering him on, but Dave Raymond and David Murphy in the TV booth didn’t say much of anything. It might have been confusing to some watching at home.
(Speaking of Raymond, read this story.)
Well … let’s see these clown shows. If the fan starts shedding clothes or flipping the bird or grabbing his crotch, then the cameras can cut away.
Maybe the fan will trip and blow out his knee. Maybe he will run into a brick wall or Garcia, who might be about as forgiving as a wall.
Doggy video!
Exhausting, indeed, literally and figuratively. Enjoy. See you Thursday.
