Kinsler is a man on fire.

As the Rangers got to Seattle for a two-game series with the American League West leaders, Kinsler had stated his case as the first-month MVP of the American League.

Actually, before he suffered a sports hernia injury in August and missed the final month of the 2008 season, he was having a better season than the eventual MVP, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia.

In fact, while Pedroia won the fans' vote and started last year's All-Star Game with Kinsler as his backup, Kinsler was a landslide winner over Pedroia in the players' vote.

Over the course of 2008 and 2009, Kinsler has 27 home runs and 33 steals in 145 games, 17 fewer games than a full season.

But this season, he's off the charts and is probably the biggest reason the Rangers went to Seattle with a 12-12 record, 21/2 games out of first place.

Kinsler is second to Tampa Bay's Carlos Pena with nine home runs.

He is third behind the Rays' Evan Longoria and Pena in runs batted in. That's despite being a leadoff hitter.

He is tied for fifth in stolen bases, although none of the players ahead of Kinsler has more than one home run.

Kinsler is 12th in batting average at .337.

In a nationally televised game Sunday night, ESPN's announcers talked about Kinsler in Rickey Henderson terms.

"I don't even know what to say about that," Kinsler said. "I consider Rickey one of the top three players ever. It's probably a little early for that, but I will definitely take it."

Kinsler's power development is interesting.

He was a 17th-round pick of the Rangers in the 2003 draft, coming out of the University of Missouri. I asked him once why he was drafted so late.

His response: "Are you kidding? I weighed a buck sixty."

But he began to show some power in his bat with 20 minor league home runs at Class A Clinton and Double-A Frisco in 2004 and 23 more at Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2005.

Kinsler hasn't hit more than 20 in a major league season, but he has never had many at-bats. This season, if he stays healthy, Kinsler is a legitimate contender to be a rare 40-40 guy, not just 30-30.

One of the biggest reasons the Rangers are off to a decent start, however, is improved infield defense. Kinsler, who averaged an error every seven games the last two years, has one error in 24 games in 2009.

"That was my biggest concern with my game," he said. "If we're going to ever have a championship contending team, we can't have anybody breaking the chain on defense. It's early, but I feel pretty good about my play and our team defense right now."

With improved defense and starting pitching and Kinsler hammering away at the top of the lineup, the Rangers have a chance to make a move in the West. Including Monday night, five of their next 10 games are against the Mariners.

Not many expected Seattle and Texas to be the top two teams after the first month. But the Angels have been rocked by the losses of Mark Teixeira and Francisco Rodriguez in free agency, the injury to Vlad Guerrero and the tragic death of young pitcher Nick Adenhart, in addition to other pitching injuries.

"We feel like the West is absolutely up for anyone this year," Kinsler said.

While the division is up for grabs, the MVP chase after the first month is a one-man race.

One hot start

How Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler stacks up in the American League.

Statistic No. Rank

Home runs 9 2nd

RBIs 25 3rd

Batting average .337 12th

Stolen bases 7 5th

Slugging pct. .703 4th

OPS* 1.092 6th

*On-base plus slugging percentage; statistics through Sunday.

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THE Rangers led Seattle 6-4 in the 7th inning at press time. For results, visit dallasnews.com/sports.

SportsDay's Richard Durrett will host a live in-game chat at 3:40 p.m. today at Fox & Hound off Campbell and 75.