ARLINGTON – The Jack Leiter Experience ended for now Wednesday afternoon.
It seemed a little premature to ask Maye while Reiter worked on his fastball command, but one important question remained. Can we already ignore 2024 as the year the Rangers' farm system doesn't work? Do you want to produce homemade starter?
That's what the Rangers spent most of their 4-0 win over Cleveland trying to digest. Reiter pitched 9.1 innings in three starts and allowed 17 earned runs. Owen White allowed six runs in one inning over two games, but was never seriously considered for a spot starting role. Zach Kent was declared a DFA before the end of spring training. Even before spring training began, the Rangers decided that Cole Winn would ultimately go to the bullpen. They didn't bother telling him.
If I were to make a simple declaration, it would be “another year without a starter.'' Better answer: It's complicated.
“I don't think three weeks is indicative of the growth of the pitchers in our organization,” assistant GM Ross Fenstermaker said. “I think the story is still largely untold.”
The important thing is that it's a long time until October. Yes, Reiter needs to work on his fastball command. Yes, he has to figure out how to get the ball into the zone more consistently. Yes, he looked surprisingly anxious on the mound in his home debut. But the past three weeks have been heady for the 24-year-old. Up. under. The voice of Major League Baseball. The voice of the minor leagues. A voice outside. I'm not trying to make excuses, but that's a lot. He has to digest it, process it and apply it.
However, there is still time for the raw starters to contribute this season. Although appealing, it's too early to waste another year of farm development.
Well, it wasn't about the game. But here are some very important final thoughts from my scorecard.
(potentially) worst news: The 40-man roster is dangerously thin for pitchers, and left-hander Antwon Kelly's exit after just six pitches in the ninth inning of a game at Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday night decimated any remaining resilience. It's possible that you lost it. Kelly, who missed four weeks with a shoulder problem, was out of control, only passing one pitch past the plate and slowing down.
Kelly, Owen White, who was designated on Monday, and Jack Leiter, who was designated on Wednesday afternoon, were the only healthy pitchers among the 40. The lighter cannot be recalled for 15 days unless injured. This essentially means that if the Rangers need another pitcher, they will have to make a lot of roster maneuvers to acquire the pitcher. Someone will have to be removed from the 40-man quota to make room. They already started down that path Wednesday when they purchased the contract of veteran Shawn Anderson from Round Rock to replace Reiter. Texas had to move Max Scherzer to the 60-day IL to do that.
Anderson, 33, started the year in the Mexican League and signed a minor league contract with the Rangers on April 18. He spent the first half of last year in South Korea and joined the Phillies in July. Throughout the 2021-22 season, he split time between four different clubs and posted an 8.88 ERA.
Next up for Anderson could be Gerson Garavito, who spent the 2022-2023 season in Nicaragua and Venezuela. It's safe to say the Rangers are looking all over the world for pitching options.
Best flowers in May: A pattern seems to be emerging in Leody Taveras' career. A balmy April gives way to a sweltering May. Returning from an oblique injury last year, Taveras slashed .204/.271/.315/.586 in April and posted a .935 OPS in May. This year: He limped off to .226/.280/.333/.613 in April, but has followed it up with a .904 OPS so far through the first half of May.
On Wednesday, he went for a two-out, two-strike breaking ball from Carlos Carrasco, nailed it to the right-field corner, scooped it and advanced to third base. This is from a player who hit .136 with two strikes this year and a career batting average of .166. The Rangers extended their lead to 2-0 with Marcus Semien's two-strike bash followed by a triple.
Worst stats: Do you want to shut down the Rangers? Just load the bases. The Rangers were 0-for-3 on Wednesday with the bases loaded, including a leadoff homer double play. It was his third double play grounder of the season, with the opponent getting one out at home plate.
It must be a coincidence that the bases are loaded, right? He is hitting .306 with runners in scoring position, but only .218 with the bases loaded. That's a coincidence. It must be so.
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