Player Rankings for Rangers vs Athletics – 8/31/25

Texas Rangers

@

Athletics

As the Texas Rangers head to Sutter Health Park to face the Oakland Athletics on August 31, 2025, the stakes are clear. The Rangers, currently sitting at 70-67, are in the thick of the competition for a Wild Card spot, while the Athletics, with a record of 63-74, are looking to salvage their season. In their last matchup, Oakland suffered a 9-3 defeat, a game that highlighted their struggles this year.

The pitching matchup leans heavily in favor of the Rangers with Jacob deGrom, who ranks as the 13th best starting pitcher in MLB, set to take the mound. DeGrom boasts an impressive 2.79 ERA and a solid win-loss record of 10-6. He has demonstrated elite performance this season, striking out an average of 6.4 batters while projecting to allow only 2.4 earned runs. In contrast, J.T. Ginn, projected to start for the Athletics, has had a challenging season with a 4.96 ERA and a 2-5 record. Although Ginn ranks 54th in the league, indicating he’s still a competent pitcher, his recent outings have shown inconsistency.

Offensively, the Athletics have been surprisingly productive, ranking 8th in MLB, despite their overall struggles. They lead the league in batting average, sitting at 4th overall, and are 7th in home runs. This suggests they have the potential to exploit any weaknesses in the Rangers’ pitching. However, the Rangers have been lackluster offensively, ranking 26th in MLB, although they do show some power with a middle-of-the-pack ranking in home runs.

With a high game total of 9.5 runs, this matchup could be a revealing test for both teams. The projections indicate the Athletics could achieve a team total of 4.38 runs, while the Rangers have a robust implied total of 5.12 runs. As the season winds down, every game becomes crucial, making this clash one to watch closely.

Texas Rangers Insights

• Jacob deGrom – Over/Under 6.5 Strikeouts (-125/-105)
  Jacob deGrom will hold the platoon advantage over 6 opposing bats today.
  Explain: Right-handed pitchers perform better against right-handed hitters (and the same for lefties). Having this advantage against a lot of opposing hitters can have a huge impact on whether a pitcher will perform well or struggle on any given day.
• Rowdy Tellez – Over/Under 0.5 Hits (-155/+120)
  Rowdy Tellez has primarily hit in the back-half of the lineup this season (86% of the time), but he is penciled in 5th in the lineup today.
  Explain: The higher in the order a player bats, the more plate appearances he will get and the more opportunities he will get to hit the Over for every market. A player who hits higher in the order than he normally does may provide extra value opportunity since the market may be based on him hitting lower.
• Texas Rangers – 2H Moneyline
  The Texas Rangers bullpen ranks as the 7th-worst in the majors, via the leading projection system (THE BAT).
  Explain: Most bettors only consider the starting pitcher, but a weak bullpen sneakily creates an easier matchup for the opposing offense and boosts a game’s runs.

Athletics Insights

• Athletics – 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline (+135)
  In his previous GS, J.T. Ginn was on point and allowed 1 ER.
  Explain: A pitcher who was strong in his last outing may be sharp once again in his next outing.
• Colby Thomas – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-125/-105)
  Colby Thomas has been hot recently, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 91.4-mph to 100.9-mph in the past week’s worth of games.
  Explain: Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.
• Lawrence Butler – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-170/+130)
  Lawrence Butler has a 95th percentile opposite-field rate on his flyballs (37.9%) and has the misfortune of hitting them towards the game’s 6th-deepest LF fences in today’s game.
  Explain: This player’s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.

Betting Trends

• Athletics – Run Line +1.5 (-130)
  The Athletics have hit the Run Line in 46 of their last 74 games (+12.90 Units / 13% ROI)
• Texas Rangers – Over/Under 4.5 Team Total (-140/+110)
  The Texas Rangers have hit the Team Total Over in 36 of their last 60 games (+10.85 Units / 16% ROI)
• Tyler Soderstrom – Over/Under 0.5 Singles (+105/-135)
  Tyler Soderstrom has hit the Singles Over in 7 of his last 9 games at home (+5.40 Units / 58% ROI)