For two Texas Rangers, the cost of being slow adopters of analytics may be playing time
Determined and confident and full of sage advice from an MLB All-Star, Ronald Guzman arrived at Texas Rangers spring training knowing he has to win his spot at first base.
The same can be said of Rougned Odor, including the MLB All-Star thing, but he is almost certain to be in the Opening Day lineup.
A couple months after that? Who knows?
The right side of the Rangers’ infield is a giant question mark entering spring training, and the final answer won’t be known after six weeks at the Surprise Recreation Campus.
And it might not be as easy as just results, not in today’s world of analytics and process.
And today’s world of analytics and process isn’t easy either.
Neither player was an early-adopter of the Rangers’ analytics philosophy, nor did either of them fully grasp what the team was trying to impart until it was too late into last season. Now they find themselves at the doorway of the most critical springs of their careers.
This isn’t a case of analytics gone bad, but a case of a massive upload of information and not enough experience or know-how to process it correctly.
“We just need to get used to it,” Odor said. “We aren’t used to seeing all those numbers and the first year it’s kind of difficult to understand, especially for me. Now, I understand it, and I like it.”
Neither player worked out with the Rangers over the offseason; Guzman was in the Dominican Republic and Odor was in Miami. Guzman trained with former Rangers outfielder and six-time All-Star Nelson Cruz, picking his brain about the mental side of the game.
Odor was in Miami at the famed Bommarito Performance System, and spent time talking shop with fellow Venezuelan and five-time All-Star Victor Martinez.
The All-Stars spoke of the struggles they encountered as young players. Cruz went unclaimed after being designated for assignment at the end of spring training in 2008 and spent most of the season a Triple A finding what made him click.
He’s the poster boy for the term “late bloomer.” Guzman is still only 25, but the Rangers are looking for more from him just as they did from Cruz 12 years ago.
So, Guzman said he went back to they way his swung the bat in 2010, when he was 15 and hadn’t yet signed with the Rangers. Why? Because it was simple, he said.
He made his offseason changes while in concert with the Rangers and hitting coaches Luis Ortiz and Callix Crabbe. Guzman hasn’t abandoned analytics, but is making sense of what was shared last season.
“What they were teaching, I was kind of doing it but not knowing what I was doing,” Guzman said. “I’m not saying they’re wrong. They taught me the right things. It’s just a matter of understanding and making it your own.”
Odor and Guzman say they have applied the right data to their swings and it was part of their offseason training. Now, it’s time for them to turn the process into production.
Their playing time is on the line.
Guzman has competition at first base in the form of Greg Bird and Sam Travis, and could start the season at Triple A Nashville. Nick Solak could easily slide into second base should Odor finally run out of rope.
It’s not like the first analytics-driven season last year was the first time Odor has struggled. As a result, his rope is getting shorter and shorter.
“You do have to produce,” manager Chris Woodward said. “It’s more understanding who they are. The guys that didn’t have to buy in as much had a better idea of who they were. They were already solidified in their approach and game planning.
“For those two guys, whether we were here offering them to buy into something, they still would have had to figure out who they were,” he continued. “So, that’s what we’re trying to do and help them figure out who that are and how they can figure out the best version of themselves every day.”
Who are Odor and Guzman? Two players in Rangers camp trying to secure their spot in the lineup after finally figuring out how analytics applies to them.
“The main thing is that I’m prepared,” Guzman said. “I worked hard the whole offseason, and I know I’m ready. It’s not like I’m coming in here and I’m guessing. I’m here to take it.”
