With each passing day in September, it feels like the Texas Rangers’ chances of making it back to the playoffs are getting slimmer and slimmer.

For most of the season, Texas has fought just to stay at .550, and it must try to produce a run to take the American League West Division from the Houston Astros. Since the Rangers won the World Series in 2023, they have not been in a postseason drought.

When factoring in the Rangers’ struggles, it is worth considering if the talent they possess is still enough to be a playoff team.

On Wednesday, ESPN MLB Insider Kiley McDaniel released his annual list in which he ranks Major League Baseball's 30 clubs by level of star power.

In these rankings, McDaniel considers the star talent that each team has under contract for at least the next two full seasons. Additionally, he identifies each roster based on three talent categories: elite, plus and solid.

This year, the Rangers’ star talent came in at No. 20, which is somewhat of a steep drop from their 2025 ranking, in which they placed 14th. So, what went into this decision?

In McDaniel’s view, Texas has what he describes as not much depth, but a roster with solid major-league players. The Rangers did not have any players fall into the 'elite' category, but four players fell into the plus category.

Wyatt Langford, Jacob deGrom, Corey Seager and Ezequiel Duran were the players who occupied the ‘plus' category. Meanwhile, other members of the 40-man roster and prospects alike occupied the 'solid’ category.

If this were the Rangers’ roster in 2023, Corey Seager would have been considered elite. In Texas’ run to capturing the franchise’s first World Series title, he logged a .327 batting average, a .390 on-base percentage, a .623 slugging percentage and a 1.013 OPS.

Now, at 32 years old, he has aged past his prime, and his injuries and inconsistencies demonstrate his decline. Seager is still good, but not who he once was.

For Jacob deGrom, the situation is similar. He has had some dominant outings this season, but he is nearing the end of his career, and it has affected his level of play.

Overall, the Rangers have some good pieces. However, they have not been able to put their talents together in a way that equates to consistent, winning baseball. With only 15 games remaining, time is running out for them to break the cycle of mediocrity.