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saddles
Be Patient and Finish Right #TakeBackTX
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The Rangers are struggling right now. Things will not get any easier this week as they face the Tigers. The Tigers are 9-6.
April 15: RHP Reese Olson (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Lorenzen (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
April 16: RHP Casey Mize (0-0, 4.82 ERA) vs. TBD
April 17: LHP Tarik Skubal (2-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. TBD
April 18: RHP Kenta Maeda (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. TBD
There is speculation that the Rangers will continue with a 6-man rotation and bring up Jack Leiter to pitch a game this week. It would probably be much better for Leiter's development if they simply went with a 5 man rotation. Then they could go Gray, Dunning, and Heaney for the rest of the Tigers series. Then Eovaldi, Gray, and Dunning could pitch over the weekend. The 6-man rotation they had originally planned before Bradford was forced to miss a start was a luxury they could afford at the time. That is no longer the case.
I suspect they will go with the 5-man rotation. Bochy likes uncertainty. I think he thinks it gives his team an advantage. The Rangers were presented with an opportunity to portray some uncertainly and I think Bochy jumped at the chance.
Cole Winn looked good in his debut performance. It would be huge if he turned into a reliable bullpen piece, I still think both Church and Kelly could be successful up here. Kelly is hurt now, but hopefully he gets back into action soon.
The secret weapons from the upper levels, that could eventually be used in the big league bullpen, are Emiliano Teodo and Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa. Both would require 40-man spots, but there are some pitchers on our 40-man who could be waived. Both Teodo and Hoopii-Tuionetoa are probably guys who we wouldn't see up here for several weeks, if we see them at all. Keep your eye on them over the next few weeks though. The one thing that might keep Teodo from being used in our pen could be him having success as a starter for Frisco.
One other reliever I am watching is Frisco's Tyler Owens. The Rangers picked him up 3 months ago in a trade with the Braves when we traded JP Martinez for him. Owens had a good stint in Low-A ball last year and he has started out well for Frisco this year.
It is hard to imagine needing another reliever, besides some of the guys I have already mentioned,once we have Bradford, Scherzer and Mahle come back to the rotation. If we do need another reliever in late August of later, it might be a good opportunity to bring up a starting pitcher from the minors to work in the pen during the last few weeks of the season. I have always been against doing that to prospect starting pitchers earlier in the season, but doing so toward the end of the season might be a good idea. Guy like Leiter, Acker and Teodo could be possibilities.
April 15: RHP Reese Olson (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Lorenzen (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
April 16: RHP Casey Mize (0-0, 4.82 ERA) vs. TBD
April 17: LHP Tarik Skubal (2-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. TBD
April 18: RHP Kenta Maeda (0-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. TBD
There is speculation that the Rangers will continue with a 6-man rotation and bring up Jack Leiter to pitch a game this week. It would probably be much better for Leiter's development if they simply went with a 5 man rotation. Then they could go Gray, Dunning, and Heaney for the rest of the Tigers series. Then Eovaldi, Gray, and Dunning could pitch over the weekend. The 6-man rotation they had originally planned before Bradford was forced to miss a start was a luxury they could afford at the time. That is no longer the case.
I suspect they will go with the 5-man rotation. Bochy likes uncertainty. I think he thinks it gives his team an advantage. The Rangers were presented with an opportunity to portray some uncertainly and I think Bochy jumped at the chance.
Cole Winn looked good in his debut performance. It would be huge if he turned into a reliable bullpen piece, I still think both Church and Kelly could be successful up here. Kelly is hurt now, but hopefully he gets back into action soon.
The secret weapons from the upper levels, that could eventually be used in the big league bullpen, are Emiliano Teodo and Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa. Both would require 40-man spots, but there are some pitchers on our 40-man who could be waived. Both Teodo and Hoopii-Tuionetoa are probably guys who we wouldn't see up here for several weeks, if we see them at all. Keep your eye on them over the next few weeks though. The one thing that might keep Teodo from being used in our pen could be him having success as a starter for Frisco.
One other reliever I am watching is Frisco's Tyler Owens. The Rangers picked him up 3 months ago in a trade with the Braves when we traded JP Martinez for him. Owens had a good stint in Low-A ball last year and he has started out well for Frisco this year.
It is hard to imagine needing another reliever, besides some of the guys I have already mentioned,once we have Bradford, Scherzer and Mahle come back to the rotation. If we do need another reliever in late August of later, it might be a good opportunity to bring up a starting pitcher from the minors to work in the pen during the last few weeks of the season. I have always been against doing that to prospect starting pitchers earlier in the season, but doing so toward the end of the season might be a good idea. Guy like Leiter, Acker and Teodo could be possibilities.
