The Texas Rangers traded for Jake Burger before the 2025 season to get some cheap, controllable power. In 2026 he finally became that power source.
But even as he bounced back and led the Rangers in several productive categories, the question remains as to whether he's a part of the team's future as the Rangers transition from a team that values slugging to a team that values on base percentage and versatility?
Burger is fortunate to play a position that doesn't necessarily need versatility. But that doesn't mean the Rangers won't look at his intriguingly split analytics and either see a chance to move on or a player that is improving in one key area.
Jake Burger 2026 MLB Percentile Rankings | Statcast/Baseball Savant
As one can see above, there are things that Burger did well in 2026 and things he did - and there was little in between. Perhaps that's part of what the Rangers may grapple with this offseason.
After a forgettable, injury-marred 2025, he bounced back for 620 plate appearances and 556 at-bats in 2026 as he slashed .228/.302/.421 with 28 home runs and 90 RBI. He led Texas in home runs and in RBI and his Statcast numbers present why he did.
He had one of the best bat speeds in baseball at 75.7 mph, which was in the 89th percentile. That helped his 45.3% hard-hit percentage (78th percentile) and his barrel rate of 12.3% (81st percentile).
But he also set a career-high with 167 strikeouts and 56 walks. That career-high in strikeouts was fueled by his 35.5% chase rate, which was in the 18th percentile, and his 34.2% whiff rate, which was in the fourth percentile. His strikeout rate was 26.9% and in the 17th percentile. Burger wasn't particularly choosy at the plate. That's been the trend, though to be fair his chase rate was a career best in a qualifying season.
The walk rate is on the thing the Rangers will look at closely and could be the key piece of data they use to determine if Burger is taking to the new philosophy. While his on-base percentage really isn't where Texas wants it, the career-high in walks is notable for a hitter whose previous best walk rate in a qualifying season was less than 5%. In 2026 he was in the 48th percentile in baseball, even though his walk rate was only 9%.
Before this season one could argue that he was closing in on being a three-outcome hitter with no turning back. Now, with the rise in walk rate one must consider whether the Rangers' new approach is helping him or if that walk rate was just a one-off?
The walk rate is the most intriguing number from a season in which Burger profiled as the cheap power hitter the Rangers traded for nearly two years ago. The real question now is whether he can further evolve?
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rangers/onsi as Intriguing Statistics Defined How Jake Burger Led, Frustrated Rangers in 2026 .
