This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

This is the Leody Taveras the Rangers have been expecting.

Taveras, who entered 2020 as the club’s No. 3 prospect, is beginning to reach his potential at the big league level, entering Sunday slashing .341/.360/.549 with a .909 OPS through 29 games since being called up on June 13.

It’s a small sample, but compared to his 33 games in 2020 (.227/.308/.395) and 49 games in '21 (.161/.207/.270), it’s a vast improvement.

President of baseball operations Jon Daniels noted that while Taveras skipped Triple-A altogether before making his MLB debut in 2020, there was little risk developmentally due to the pandemic canceling the Minor League season. The only other alternative for Taveras was scrimmaging against other Rangers Minor Leaguers across the street at the club’s old home of Globe Life Park.

Now, after some adjustments with his swing and revitalized confidence, Taveras looks like he truly belongs for the first time.

“I feel like you’re gonna keep seeing him get better, which is cool,” said manager Chris Woodward. “He's been really disciplined and is in a really good headspace. I know his numbers are really good, and I think there's reason to believe he can sustain it. That's always my thing. Can he sustain this, or is this just a hot streak? But with the way he's preparing, I feel like he can sustain this kind of success.

“I don't know if the numbers stay exactly the same, but I like where he's at. He’s confident, he goes out there with a little bit of swagger. I see him carrying himself in a different way. It’s all positive trends right now.”

The conversation surrounding Taveras for the last three years has been whether he could find success in the Majors. For years, he seemed to have Minor League pitching figured out. So what did it take for him to take that next step?

“The time [between callups] gave me that confidence,” Taveras said. “I learned a lot. I was just learning and trying to stay focused to get better. The confidence that I have today is all I need to go out there and do my best -- that's the best thing that can happen.”

For now, it seems like Taveras has put it together, exactly as the Rangers expected he eventually would. And while it takes more than confidence to be a quality big leaguer, Taveras has taken the first steps.

“So this is the last time we have this conversation with you?” a media member asked Taveras in a scrum after his most recent callup.

“This conversation” being centered on what he needs to do to stay up in the big leagues for longer than a cup of coffee and how he’s changed to give him a better chance to do so.

Taveras smiled.

“Amen. I hope so.”