Jake Burger was always going to play an important role for the Texas Rangers in 2026. The front office is betting on a few in-house guys showing improvement in order to fix the offense. Burger is just one of them, along with the likes of Josh Jung, Josh Smith, and even Evan Carter.
But Monday brought news showcasing why Burger’s importance just grew and might be at the top of the list.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reported the lineup manager Skip Schumaker is likely to post every day, at least at the top. New acquisition Brandon Nimmo will leadoff, followed by Wyatt Langford. Corey Seager slots into the three-hole after primarily hitting second for most of his time in a Rangers uniform. Then, insert Burger, who will follow the left-handed slugger. Which is where the level of importance ticks up.
Seager is going to be the guy who determines the ceiling of this Rangers offense. When healthy, there are few hitters better than him in baseball. We have seen it through the years, especially when a hot streak breaks out. Seager can win games at the plate by himself. Pitchers need a reason to pitch to him, though.
If the production behind Seager is anything but fantastic, not many smart teams will be throwing the shortstop a pitch worthy of mashing. Heck, they still may not, even if Burger is putting up solid numbers. You still need the threat to loom.
Here is an example – Look at Juan Soto’s numbers pre-Aaron Judge, with Judge, and post-Judge. Soto hit second in the Yankees lineup behind Judge in 2024, not getting the same luxury with the San Diego Padres and New York Mets
Soto’s OPS is better by around 70 and 60 points, while the OPS+ difference sits at 20 and 25. Numbers such as home runs, RBIs, and hits are relatively the same. Slugging is the biggest outlier on the chart there, likely because teams gave him more opportunity with Judge coming up next.
Now, I want to make something clear. This is not a like-for-like comparison. If anything, it’s a little extreme. Seager is not Soto and Burger is definitely not Judge. It’s just a high-level and recent example to show what having somebody capable of producing hitting behind you can do. Plenty of other examples exist throughout baseball.
Burger finished 2025 with a below league-average OPS in 2025, sitting at .687. His OPS+ number backs up that sentiment at 99. An OBP of .269 was the lowest of his career. Nobody is going to be scared to face Burger if 2026 turns into a mirror. Which only affects Seager.
FanGraphs forecasts improvement for Burger, who is having a nice spring training. A projected OPS of .737 with 27 home runs comes in. Unfortunately, the OBP remains under .300. In what would be a big-time improvement, you might still feel as if just a little bit more is needed. Maybe closer to the .750 range.
Saying the guy who hits cleanup is important is, well, easy. A lot is expected of the lineup slot, whether it’s driving runners in, providing power, or setting something up for the heart of the order. Burger getting put there by Schumaker elevates his task alone.
But you can look at this one step further. Forcing teams to respect what comes after Seager could unlock something different. Burger finding a way to break out either makes them give Seager some more opportunities or punishes them in a big way.