Texas Rangers May Recap: Notes on Calhoun, Perez, Heim for All-Star and More

They’re OK, the last days of May … but if you’re the Texas Rangers (or Blue Öyster Cult), the last days of May can be great. The Rangers have improved to 24-26 in their second full month of the season, even brushing .500 with their game two win against the Rays. With that, May has become the Rangers’ first winning month in nearly three years, going 17-12 with the conclusion of the series against the Rays.

At the time of writing, the Rangers are gearing up to play a three-game series at home against the Seattle Mariners. The Rangers’ series record for May (including the two games against the Rays played on June 1 and 2) stands as follows: a two-game sweep against the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-2 against New York Yankees, 2-1 against Kansas City Royals, 1-2 against Boston Red Sox, a three-game sweep against Los Angeles Angels, 1-3 agaist Houston Astros, 1-1 against Los Angeles Angels, 3-1 against Oakland Athletics, and 2-2 vs Tampa Bay Rays. The sweep of the Angels is particularly impressive, as at the time the Angels were first place in the AL West and now find themselves in an eight-game losing streak, with the first loss of that streak handed to them by the Rangers on May 25.

The Rangers are on a roll and are nipping at the heels of the above .500 club for the first time in over a year. However, that comfort and overconfidence can be a killer: The last time the Rangers reached .500 — on May 9, 2021, they lost six games in a row on their way back to the bottom of the standings. But fear not, for the Rangers seem to have found an offensive groove with Heim, Calhoun, Seager, Garcia, Lowe, Miller, Garver and co. pulling their offensive weight. All they need to do is keep it up.

Here are a few of our observations on the Rangers’ second month of the 2022 season.

Marcus Semien Breaks on Through to the Other Side
Praise the home run gods! Marcus Semien hit his first home run in a Rangers uniform against his original team before his hometown Oakland crowd, a grand slam to boot. Semien’s second home run came at home vs. the Rays in the final game of the series and became the Rangers' sole run scored in that game. With those and a few consistent plate appearances, Semien’s average has improved to just a hair under .200. Given his glacial start to the season, two homers within a week of each other may help Semien enjoy that $25 million-a-year contract with a little more security. His fellow half-billion-dollar baby Corey Seager has had a pretty solid month as well, with seven of his 11 homers coming after May 1 for a .764 OPS despite a relatively low batting average of .214 for the month. The babies just need to keep it up.

Kole Calhoun Is Molten Hot
Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! Of the three free agent signings prior to the lockout, who would have thought that Kole Calhoun would be the one coming through in spades? In the month of May, Calhoun batted.326 with a 1.013 OPS mostly stemming from his seven homers and 19 RBIs. Add in a few spectacular defensive plays, and you’ve got the Rangers’ runaway MVP for the month of May. The Rays were able to neutralize his bat in the final series of the month, but Calhoun is undoubtedly All-Star bound, if he keeps it up.

Jonah Heim Is a Consistent and Dependable Hitter
After spending the majority of April outdoing himself offensively with the little playing time he was getting as Mitch Garver’s backup catcher, Jonah Heim has proven himself to be one of the Rangers’ most consistent and dependable hitters. For May, Garver’s flexor sprain thrust Heim into the starting catcher spot with Sam Huff as his backup. In that time, Heim more or less maintained his offensive numbers, settling into a batting average of .263 with an OPS of .807. With Garver solely DHing for the foreseeable future, Heim is finally getting the playing time he deserves, and given his exceptional numbers as a catcher — both at and behind the plate (he's neck-and-neck with the Athletics’ Sean Murphy as the best framing catcher in baseball) — The Buffalo Bomber might be catching the All-Star Game, if he keeps it up.

Martín Pérez Is a Cy Young Contender
It’s a dangerous thing to make predictions in baseball, so for now we're just going to say he’s a contender, but Martín Pérez has the lowest ERA in all of baseball at a stunning 1.42, ahead of Nestor Cortez’s 1.50. Perez’s previous ERAs hover above 3.00 and 4.00, so his improvement back in the Rangers organization say as much about it as it does about him. Given that the Rangers signed Pérez to a one-year, $4 million contract just one month before the start of the season, it seems like ownership is going to have to start searching under the couch for some serious cash in order to keep him alongside the half-billion dollar babies. If nothing else, he may be on the mound at Chavez Ravine in July for the All-Star Game, if he keeps it up.

Welcome to the Club, Josh!
Newly called up from AAA Round Rock, third baseman Josh Smith has quickly found his place in the Rangers’ lineup, going 3-for-4 in his MLB debut with his smiling family in attendance. Since then, he’s only played four games, but in those games, he’s gotten four hits (including a double), walked once, been hit by a pitch, stolen a base and has struck out once. Shoot, the Rangers may have found their everyday third baseman, if he keeps it up.