ARLINGTON, Texas _ Hey, everyone, Rougned Odor says he feels good at the plate leading up to another Texas Rangers season.
Odor looks really good and is doing the right things and sticking to recommended changes, manager Chris Woodward said.
Woodward's predecessor, Jeff Banister, said the same things.
And how have those seasons worked out?
Odor has a .219 batting average the past three seasons and 116 more strikeouts (467) than hits (351). His .703 OPS says he's a below-average offensive player, and his 78 OPS+ says he's way below average even though he has connected for 30 homers in two of the past three seasons.
But he feels really good right now.
Any takers?
He needs to feel good from the start of this 60-game sprint MLB is calling a season. A team can't afford to have an anchor holding its offense down long, and the Rangers have multiple options to replace him.
Odor, though, will be the Opening Day second baseman July 24 at Globe Life Field against the Colorado Rockies, and he will also have the task of proving that this time he is an improved and changed hitter.
"I don't like to talk about myself, but I'm just going to tell you this: I feel really good at the plate," Odor said. "And I feel like what I was doing at the end of last year I've brought into this year."
His performance so far at summer camp proves him right. He has four home runs, including one in the past three games before the Rangers enjoyed an off day Sunday. They resume workouts Monday night.
Odor is 8-for-17 overall and has two doubles. His homers have come off closer Jose Leclerc and rotation members Kyle Gibson, Jordan Lyles and two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.
Granted, this is still spring training, version 2.0. The changes that finally clicked for Odor last season, that he claims he has stuck with through the offseason, the Arizona spring and the coronavirus pandemic, came in September.
Odor batted .261 with nine home runs and an American League-best 25 RBIs in the final month of 2019. He had a similar July, but needed the strong September to lift his average to .205 after ending August at .194.
The saying in baseball is that the two hardest times to scout a player are September and spring training because the talent pool includes players who still working into force or who aren't ready for prime time.
But the Rangers believe in Odor. They don't really have a choice.
"I'm desperate _ I've said this before _ for him to get off to a fast start," Woodward said. "I feel like he's the type of player, if he gets on a roll, he can carry us. From where he was in spring training, now that I see him, he looks good. He's in a good mental space."
Odor understands the urgency of a hot start, comparing the shortened season to winter ball in Venezuela. Nick Solak and Isiah Kiner-Falefa can play second base, and the Rangers will find at-bats for them.
A slow-starting Odor might be one avenue for that to happen.
Odor, though, says he feels good, and his performance at summer camp would back that up.
"I think right now I'm just focusing on 'hit my pitch,'" he said. "Everybody knows how they pitch me. They throw me around the zone a lot. I feel like when I'm more selective around the plate, I hit better, I take more walks and I don't swing at bad pitches. So right now, I'm just trying to stay with my zone, stay with my approach and try to hit my pitch."
Any takers?
