Locked on Rangers Podcast: Opening Day roster projection, who is a lock, what will bullpen look like
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00:00 It's 41 days until opening day.
00:02 And on today's show, I'm breaking down which players will be on the Rangers' roster
00:05 when they start the season on March 28th.
00:07 All that and more on this episode of Locked on Rangers.
00:09 Let's get into it.
00:10 You are Locked on Rangers.
00:14 Your daily Texas Rangers podcast.
00:18 Part of the Locked on Podcast Network.
00:21 Your team, every day.
00:23 [Music]
00:33 You are Locked on to the World Series Champion Texas Rangers.
00:37 I'm Bryce Patrick, a creepily addicted Texas Rangers fan,
00:39 covering this team for 10 seasons, including all five as the founder and host of this podcast.
00:44 Thank y'all so much for making Locked on Rangers your first listen every single day.
00:47 If you're not already, you can follow me on Twitter @BrycePatrick.
00:49 You can follow this show @LockedOnRangers.
00:52 Hit subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform and on YouTube,
00:54 where the best way you can help grow the show is to comment nearly any single thing below.
00:58 And before we get into the opening day roster projection,
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01:13 Now we are almost there, just 41 days away from opening day.
01:19 Pitchers and catchers have reported.
01:21 Everybody else is going to be back, be in camp on Monday.
01:25 We're going to start having games a week from today.
01:28 Spring training games are a week from today.
01:32 Just let that sink in.
01:34 Let that beautiful thought sink in.
01:37 We are so close.
01:39 The winter is unwintering.
01:42 It is warming up.
01:43 Baseballs are being thrown.
01:44 People were out there in Arizona.
01:46 We are seeing granny videos.
01:47 We are getting updates about how this offseason was the best offseason of,
01:51 of anyone's life.
01:51 And for most of us, it pretty much was because, you know,
01:53 the Rangers won the World Series and they've got most of their team back.
01:58 And this opening day roster projection is, for the most part, pretty easy for,
02:04 you know, three of the four main areas of the team.
02:08 The starting lineup is, or yeah, start lineup.
02:12 What am I saying?
02:13 But yeah, the, the starting lineup is, is going to be pretty set in stone.
02:19 I'm pretty sure we know who most of the position players are going to be on this
02:21 roster.
02:22 The bench feels pretty darn set.
02:24 The rotation feels mostly set.
02:26 It's just that bullpen, which is always a quandary and was a unfun, deeply unfun
02:34 quandary last year.
02:35 But this year, I think will be a little bit more fun, a little bit better.
02:38 Hopefully at least a little bit better, hopefully a lot better this year.
02:42 But let's look at who is going to make this opening day roster starting with
02:46 the infield, the starting infield.
02:48 At first base.
02:49 Yeah, it's, it's almost assuredly going to be Nathaniel Lowe, barring an injury
02:53 or an act of God or something really super weird happening.
02:57 Second base, Marcus Simeon, shortstop, World Series MVP, two-time World Series
03:03 MVP, I should say, Corey Seager.
03:06 Third base, snubbed rookie of the year, all-star starting third baseman, World
03:11 Series champ Josh Young.
03:12 I should be saying this about every single one of these guys, but that would
03:15 be tiresome.
03:16 That would be the entire episode.
03:17 Catcher, Jonah Heim.
03:18 Outfield is almost assuredly going to be Evan Carter in left field, Leo
03:22 Tavares in center field, and Adonis Garcia in right field, while the DH/4th
03:28 outfielder will be Wyatt Langford.
03:31 I'm feeling very confident in that pick.
03:35 If you're looking at the, the bench of hitters, I think it's almost assuredly
03:40 going to be Andrew Kisner as the backup catcher.
03:43 That feels like a duh.
03:46 And then Josh Smith and Ezekiel Duran as your backup infielders/outfielders/
03:50 kind of whatever kind of hybrid role they're going to play.
03:53 I mean, they can all play pretty much every infield position.
03:57 I haven't seen Josh Smith at first base, but seeing Ezekiel Duran there, they
04:00 can play, I'd say, any outfield position.
04:03 I'd feel decently comfortable with them in any outfield position.
04:06 But again, as their backup center fielder, it's probably going to be Travis
04:11 Jankowski as that fourth bench bat.
04:14 So, yeah, I don't see much deviation from those 13 hitters.
04:20 I don't see much room for change there.
04:23 The only question, really, in my mind, is going to be that battle at DH.
04:28 Is it going to be Wyatt Langford or is it going to be Justin Foscue?
04:32 I mean, there's not a whole lot of other options, even on the 40-man
04:36 roster, for position players.
04:38 The only change to one of these 13 guys, in my opinion, is I don't think
04:44 anyone is even possible to have an absolutely outstanding spring training
04:49 to win themselves a job outside of Justin Foscue versus Langford.
04:54 That's really the only question at this point, is which one of those two guys
04:59 is going to be the primary DH.
05:01 Because if they're not going to be the primary DH, they're going to be in
05:04 AAA this year.
05:05 And that's really the only question, because the other guy is on the 40-man
05:08 roster.
05:09 Because Foscue is on the 40-man roster.
05:10 Right now, Wyatt Langford is not.
05:13 If he makes the team, obviously, he will be on the 40-man.
05:17 And on the active roster, there is some room for maneuvering around,
05:23 because nobody has been placed on the 60-day IL, I think, just yet.
05:28 Which there are several guys that are going to be placed on the 60-day IL
05:32 pretty quickly in Jacob deGrom.
05:34 And also, we're going to see a few other pitchers go on the 60-day IL
05:39 because they're not going to be ready until mid-season.
05:42 And I don't know why they haven't made those moves just yet.
05:44 They could make those moves starting on Wednesday.
05:47 And so, I'm a little curious as to why they haven't done that yet.
05:51 I'm sure they're just kind of waiting for some logistics, waiting to see
05:55 who's actually going to make this roster.
05:56 I don't know when they'll make that move.
05:58 I'm assuming it'll be sometime in spring training, not around opening day.
06:02 I don't think they're going to wait that long to put these guys on the IL.
06:05 I mean, they can still participate in spring training activities and still
06:08 be around if they're on the IL.
06:10 And none of them are going to pitch in games, so I don't know what's going on there.
06:15 But the other guys that are on the 40-man roster, the only other hitters
06:18 that are on the 40-man roster, there's Sam Huff, who I learned recently
06:22 has a fourth minor league option, thankfully.
06:24 Otherwise, I would have been concerned about going out and signing Kisner
06:28 and basically letting a potential solid, I think eventually, big league catcher
06:35 in Sam Huff just cutting him for no reason.
06:39 He's got a fourth minor league option, so he's probably going to spend
06:41 most of this year in AAA, but I think there is a path for him.
06:45 If there is an injury to Kisner or if there is, God forbid, an injury to Jonah Heim,
06:49 I think we'll definitely see some time in the big leagues for Sam Huff this year.
06:53 He had a fantastic year in AAA last year.
06:55 He was good enough, okay, in a very small sample size in the big leagues last year.
07:00 I would have loved to seen him get a little bit more of a chance,
07:05 as opposed to just going out and signing Kisner.
07:07 But when you're the reigning world champs, you can just go get a veteran backup.
07:10 And you know that Huff could still get more reps with that fourth minor league option
07:15 in the minors and still hone the strike zone a little bit better,
07:19 hone his discipline just a little bit better,
07:21 and work on the finer aspects of catching.
07:25 I think that'll be helpful for him in the long term.
07:28 And I think he'll probably be the backup catcher next year.
07:30 But this year, it's just not going to happen.
07:31 And then the only other position players on the 40-man are Jonathan Ornelas and Dustin Harris.
07:37 And I just, I don't see Jonathan Ornelas having an amazing enough spring
07:42 to push either Josh Smith or Ezekiel Duran to the minors.
07:47 I just, I don't see it.
07:49 I think his glove is a little bit better than Zeke Duran's at the infield positions.
07:54 But the bat is just so much further behind.
07:57 I think that he and Josh Smith are kind of neck and neck for their shortstop defense.
08:01 I might give a little bit of the edge to Ornelas.
08:05 I think Ornelas definitely gets the edge in outfield defense, at least in centerfield.
08:10 He's got more reps out there than those other guys.
08:13 But the bat is just so much further behind.
08:15 Even Josh Smith, I like Josh Smith's bat a little bit better.
08:18 Also, Josh Smith is left-handed.
08:19 I really love Josh Smith's plate discipline.
08:21 I mean, the glove is very good.
08:23 And he is spent last year as the Rangers' backup shortstop/platoon,
08:29 wherever the Rangers needed him.
08:31 Same with Zeke Duran, who stepped up in a huge way when Corey Seager had that injury.
08:35 He is still recovering from injury, probably going to be ready for opening day.
08:39 But if that's not the case, then I think if Corey Seager does have to miss time on opening day,
08:45 then I do say that's the scenario where we could see Jonathan Ornelas there.
08:49 And then Dustin Harris is the only other guy on the 40-man roster.
08:52 And I don't think that he is going to make his Major League debut, at least not to start the season.
08:59 Maybe if there is an injury or something, he just plays out his mind in AAA.
09:03 Maybe that's where he makes his Major League debut.
09:05 But as of right now, I think this position player group is pretty darn set, barring any injuries.
09:10 Obviously hoping there are no injuries.
09:12 We're going to see a lot of Zeke Duran and Josh Smith playing shortstop in the Supreme Training Games
09:18 because Corey Seager is still recovering from that surgery.
09:21 But again, not super concerned about Corey Seager being ready for opening day.
09:25 Or even if he does miss a couple of days, that guy is going to jump right back into the lineup
09:28 and still maintain his MVP level form.
09:31 Coming up, we'll look at the pitchers, what the starting rotation is going to look like,
09:33 some off-the-board guys who we should look at,
09:36 and maybe even a few non-roster invitee position players who I should have considered making the opening day roster.
09:41 Right after this word from our sponsors.
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10:56 Now, the only other non-roster invitees I think might be worth taking a look at,
11:04 and this would, again, just probably be to replace an injury, Matt Duffy, Jared Walsh, and Davis Wenzel.
11:10 All those guys are non-roster invitees to Spring Training that I think do have an outside shot making the roster
11:15 if, Lord forbid, there is some injury to one of those 13 hitters I just talked about.
11:19 Now, the starting rotation. This feels pretty settled.
11:22 Nate Evaldi has your number one. John Gray is your number two.
11:26 The only question is the order. I think Andrew Heaney might be the Rangers' number three.
11:30 I don't think he'll be the third best starter. I think that might be Dane Dunning.
11:34 I think he's definitely capable of repeating the performance he had last year.
11:38 He was better than Heaney last year, even though Heaney was trusted to start more playoff games than Dunning
11:44 and pitch a little bit more in the playoffs than Dunning.
11:46 Also, that amazing five-inning shutout outing in game four of the World Series against the Dimebacks.
11:52 That was fantastic stuff from Heaney.
11:54 Then, of course, Cody Bradford has your number five.
11:57 That feels pretty set in stone, barring some kind of injury outside of the number five.
12:02 I think Bradford is a solid number five. I think he can be capable of going every fifth inning.
12:08 I think he could do it right now.
12:09 But the only potential surprises for guys who would surpass them, Jack Leiter's going to be given an opportunity
12:16 to take a starting rotation spot this year.
12:22 When the Rangers drafted him, they thought he was going to move pretty quickly through the minors.
12:27 He was a pretty polished pitcher at Vanderbilt.
12:30 They thought it was not going to take a long time for him to surge through the minors
12:35 and be ready for the big leagues to be a contributing member of the starting rotation
12:39 and have a homegrown pitcher that has success for the first time in what feels like eight generations.
12:46 It hasn't actually been eight generations, but it's really felt like that.
12:48 He's felt very good about his offseason.
12:50 He's spent some time working with Sonny Gray, who's coming off a fantastic season.
12:54 Another former Vanderbilt star.
12:57 He felt pretty good about his game plan.
12:59 The stuff is still exceptional.
13:01 It's a lot about the mechanics and just trusting his stuff that not everything has to be perfect.
13:06 There's a lot written about that by the Dallas Morning News.
13:09 SI also wrote about Jack Leiter as well.
13:13 I think there's a chance he makes the big league roster at a camp in the rotation.
13:17 It's a small shot, not a great shot.
13:20 And if he does make it, then that is either someone got hurt,
13:24 which is not the ideal way for Jack Leiter to come up and make his major league debut,
13:29 or he was just so darn impressive in camp, the Rangers thought, "Okay, this guy's ready for the big leagues.
13:35 He's had a lot of potential. He's had a lot of setbacks as well, but the stuff's still there.
13:42 The mentality's still there. There's not any questions about the makeup."
13:44 And if he earns a spot in the starting rotation, that is a very good sign for this team in 2023,
13:50 and definitely moving forward.
13:52 The other guys who I think might be able to crack that rotation, they're going to at least get a shot, Owen White.
13:58 Danny Duffy, I think, is a really outside shot candidate.
14:00 He's got a spring training non-roster invitee.
14:04 He spent the minor league season with the Rangers last year, trying to rehab,
14:09 and ready for the big league level, but just was not quite ready by the end of the season.
14:13 Zach Kent, I think, has an outside shot.
14:15 Jose Ureña is a, I'm hoping, just a AAA depth option,
14:20 and is not the guy who is going to be making a lot of stars for the Rangers at the big league level,
14:26 or hopefully any at the big league level.
14:29 But hey, he was serviceable in his second team last year, not his first team.
14:37 His first team was at a 13-ish ERA.
14:39 I'm trying to think of exactly who that was.
14:41 He spent time with the White Sox in Colorado.
14:45 He had a 4-10 ERA with the White Sox's second team in five starts, just over five innings per start.
14:51 That would be fine for a number five starter or a depth starter.
14:55 I don't think he's going to necessarily win the fifth starter job out from Cody Bradford.
15:02 But it's nice to have that kind of option there.
15:05 If you're not feeling super great about Jack Leiter stepping up as that depth option,
15:08 or if you're not feeling great about Owen White, or Zach Kent, or Danny Duffy,
15:12 you have other options there, and that is the name of the game.
15:15 You can never have enough starting pitchers, as we saw last year.
15:20 Now the bullpen.
15:21 This leaves eight spots on this roster for the bullpen,
15:26 and this is what I think it's going to look like on opening day.
15:29 And I'm thinking probably for most of this season,
15:32 I don't think there's going to be a whole lot of change,
15:34 and you never know with bullpens, you never know with injuries and all that stuff.
15:37 So, closer, obviously, Jose Leclerc, until he loses that job.
15:41 I talked about it on yesterday's show, why I don't understand why this guy is getting overlooked
15:46 as one of the better closers in the game.
15:48 He's had a sub-three ERA the last couple of years.
15:50 He's had only one season in his big league career with under ten strikeouts per nine innings.
15:55 The walks got cut down a little bit last year.
15:58 The velocity even ticked up in the playoffs.
16:00 We saw how absolutely filthy he was.
16:03 And really only blew one game in the entire playoffs.
16:07 And it didn't end up mattering, because the Rangers won the World Series.
16:11 Even though that game five out two of a home run really did not feel great.
16:16 But I think he is surely going to be the Rangers' closer this year.
16:20 I think David Robertson ends up earning that eighth inning role.
16:23 I think just having a guy with a different look than what Josh Spors and Leclerc are doing.
16:29 Just not as much primo gas, more about the movement on his pitches.
16:36 Obviously a cutter first guy is going to have a lot more movement on his pitches.
16:40 Leclerc's got some crazy movement on his pitches.
16:42 Spors has got some crazy movement on his pitches.
16:44 I think Spors is the seventh inning guy.
16:46 Then everybody else will kind of, I think, rotate roles.
16:49 I don't think it's going to be surefire as the Rangers World Series.
16:53 Or I guess just playoff, not rotation, but like a set bullpen of seventh, eighth inning, eighth inning, ninth inning.
17:01 All the same guys, all every single time.
17:03 Always going to be pretty much that exact same scenario.
17:06 But I think Kirby Yates is obviously on a four and a half million dollar deal.
17:10 He's going to make the opening day roster barring an injury.
17:13 Then I think it's Brock Burke and Jonathan Hernandez.
17:15 Hernandez is out of minor league options.
17:17 So I think that's why he will end up getting the edge, at least for opening day.
17:22 They're going to see what he looks like.
17:24 And if he is as erratic as last year, it might be the end of his time here in Texas.
17:29 But I don't think he will be as erratic as last year.
17:32 I think he's finally going to be, hopefully, fully healthy, fully recovered from Tommy John surgery.
17:36 And, you know, back to the absolutely nasty sinker ball, sinker slider combination guy that he was back in 2020.
17:45 When he was really just absolutely on his game.
17:48 And then I think the other guys in this pen will be Antoine Kelly.
17:53 I feel pretty darn good about him making the opening day roster.
17:56 I think he's going to be maybe even one of the Rangers' better relievers.
18:00 The stuff is nasty.
18:03 He hasn't made his big league debut yet.
18:05 I was screaming for him to make his big league debut all the way down the stretch last year.
18:10 I mean, even at midseason, I think I was yelling like, "Okay, why is Antoine Kelly not in this pen?"
18:15 The whole issue with him was never the stuff.
18:18 It was just about staying in the strike zone.
18:21 And last year in the second half, he stayed in the strike zone significantly more.
18:25 Was still having those insane strikeout numbers and was getting a lot of weak contact or no contact.
18:31 Because he gets a lot of swings and misses coming out of that funky left side with some gas.
18:36 And some nasty breaking stuff as well.
18:38 I really like Antoine Kelly to help this pen out a lot this year.
18:42 And I think Zach Kent will probably be the last man in this Rangers' pen.
18:46 He is rocking a massive, massive beard these days.
18:49 Loving that look from him.
18:51 Kind of a mountain man kind of look.
18:54 But I think he's going to be the Rangers' long man.
18:56 I don't think he's going to be as much of a traditional long man.
18:59 As just a guy who can come in and can give you two innings.
19:02 Can give you three innings if you need it.
19:04 I think that's his ideal role.
19:06 He's a guy who is not going to beat himself with a lot of walks.
19:10 He doesn't have, you know, he's not throwing 99.
19:14 I like to see what his stuff looks like when he is put in the pen.
19:17 And allowed to crank that up from, you know, low to mid 90s to mid to upper 90s.
19:23 His slider might be the best slider in the Rangers' system right now.
19:27 I think it's going to be between him and Mark Church.
19:29 Maybe Jack Leiter's slider is in that competition as well.
19:34 But I really like Zach Kent as a long man in this pen.
19:37 Or maybe competing for that fifth spot in the Rangers' rotation.
19:41 Now, after this we're going to look at a few guys that I think might be some absolute long shots to make this roster.
19:47 Some non-roster invitees that I think could help this pen out.
19:50 And just what this means for this team if this is what the roster looks like in 2024.
19:55 Right after this word from our sponsors.
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20:35 Or if you want to bet on the Rangers over/under win total.
20:38 They're set at 89.5 wins.
20:40 Right now I would be very cautiously taking the over.
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21:02 Now let's look at some non-roster invitees because there are so many names on this list.
21:07 There's so many non-roster invitees.
21:09 There's so many other guys on the 40-man roster.
21:11 There's just a lot of options for this bullpen that I feel pretty confident in the eight that I picked.
21:17 But again, bullpens are insanely unpredictable.
21:20 They are wildfire.
21:22 They are shifting sands.
21:25 They are impossible to predict.
21:27 But if I get all these right, if I get all 26 of these roster spots right,
21:31 I'm just giving myself a big old pat on the back and feel like an absolute genius.
21:34 I've done this, I think, all five years.
21:38 Maybe just four of the five seasons that I've been here at this network.
21:43 And I don't think I've ever gotten all 26 right.
21:46 At least not on the first try.
21:49 Because usually I try and do these pretty far out.
21:51 We are, what, two, three days into spring training.
21:55 We are two days since pitches and catches are reported.
21:58 So there's still a lot of spring training to happen.
22:01 A lot of potential breakouts or potential injuries that could happen that could make all of this go up in flames.
22:08 But I think of the guys who I didn't say made this roster, I think Diego Castillo could be an option.
22:16 I'm not super bullish on him making this opening day roster or just making the roster in general.
22:23 I think he's an okay option, but I think there are better ones out there.
22:27 I like Antoine Kelly as an option to make it just a little bit better.
22:30 I like Zach Kent as an option to make this opening day roster just a little bit better.
22:34 Because I'm more bullish on Kent being the long man.
22:38 If the Rangers don't want to go with a long man, then I could see Castillo being in that mix.
22:42 Also, the lefty, Chasen Shreve, who is a non-roster invitee.
22:48 He is a side-arming lefty who has been in the big leagues for ten seasons now.
22:54 Spent time last year in between Detroit and Cincinnati.
22:58 Pitched 47 games for Detroit with a .479 ERA.
23:02 About a strikeout per inning. Not a whole lot of walks, which is encouraging to see.
23:06 Was bit a little bit by the home run ball in his short stint in Cincinnati, which is Cincinnati.
23:12 So you're going to get bit by the home run ball because that is a very, very homer-friendly ballpark.
23:18 But he's a guy who doesn't have the craziest stuff. He is a primarily change-up guy.
23:24 Threw 41% change-ups last year. And his fastball average is 91 miles an hour.
23:29 It's funny that his first name is Chasen. And his chase rate was actually pretty high last year.
23:35 33.4%, which would be in the top, I believe, to at least 10% of baseball.
23:40 If he had enough innings to qualify him to be among the league leaders at 44 2/3 innings last year.
23:46 Not quite enough to be among the qualifiers. Still a guy who I think could end up making this pen.
23:52 We'll see what Brock Burke, who I think I'm pretty confident in, but I know that Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News
24:00 said that he could be a guy who could be on the fringes. He does still have a minor league option.
24:05 I'm still very bullish on Brock Burke. Obviously he didn't finish the year very well.
24:10 He didn't play much of a factor in that bullpen in October.
24:14 Did not pitch well. When he did pitch, I believe, what, one time?
24:18 He made one or two, I think, appearances out of the pen in October.
24:22 And I think he got lit up in all of them. But I'm still a believer in Brock Burke.
24:27 I'm still a believer in the stuff. I don't think he's going to get bit by the home run ball nearly as much as he did last year.
24:33 And I think that is really where he kind of ran into a lot of problems.
24:37 And my most off the board, if I was going to pick just the most wild possibility that I think could happen,
24:43 like maybe 2-5% likely, not a .05% chance of like, "Oh, actually, you know, Brock Porter has just been amazing.
24:55 He's going to make a rotation spot." That would be the most insane thing that I could project.
24:59 Not the most insane, but one of the more insane.
25:02 But off the wall, way off the board guys who I think could end up making this team by opening day,
25:08 in that opening day roster, I think Emiliano Teodo is someone that should not be slept on as a guy who could be in this pen very early on in the season.
25:19 I'm thinking very early on. It would be a real shock if he made the opening day roster.
25:26 But I don't think it's impossible. And I don't think it would take some crazy injury to make him make the opening day roster.
25:33 The guy was really turning heads in the Arizona Fault League this past fall.
25:38 I mean, he was really, really catching people's eyes as probably the best reliever in the Arizona Fault League.
25:44 The stuff is absolutely disgusting. Absolutely filthy.
25:48 He's tweaked his fastball to make it a little bit more effective as opposed to just being, it was triple digits, but it was as straight as an arrow.
25:56 And big league hitters and advanced hitters in the minors can definitely time that up.
26:01 And he added a little bit of life to it, made it a two seamer as opposed to a four seamer.
26:06 That was very effective. It paired well off of his curveball.
26:10 I think that is a guy who the Rangers really, really like. They probably want to keep him as a starter for as long as they can.
26:16 But if they did move him to just straight up reliever, I think he could just absolutely fly through the system.
26:22 I think he's probably going to start the year in double A.
26:25 But depending on how he looks in camp and depending on where the Rangers view him and how legitimate his hopes to stay as a starter are,
26:36 I think he could really fly through the system and maybe make that opening day rotation.
26:42 But bullpen, because the stuff is so nasty, he can get big league hitters out right now.
26:47 And if he can stay effective enough and in the zone enough, because the walks have been a big, big problem,
26:54 that's absolutely what's probably going to keep him from being a starting pitcher down the road.
26:59 I think there's still a small possibility that that could be him. He could be a starter.
27:04 But it's not a very, very likely one.
27:07 And he's a guy who I think at least in my middle of the road projection, if the Rangers just say, "The heck with it, Emiliano Taito.
27:15 You're going to be a bullpen arm. That is what you're eventually going to be. We're going to stop fighting it.
27:19 And we are just going to put you in the pen and let you just absolutely unleash the dragon like you did in the Arizona Fall League."
27:25 I think that this guy could be a huge, huge weapon in this Rangers pen that has not done the best job of internally developing some relievers.
27:34 I mean, it was one of the things that I think we talked about a lot, especially down the stretch last year, heading into the postseason of the Rangers need to develop pitching.
27:44 Starting pitching would be nice. That's very difficult to do.
27:48 But a lot of other teams have done a good job of developing these nasty, nasty relievers out of nowhere.
27:53 And the Rangers haven't done that as much in years past.
27:57 And that might be a bigger indictment on this pitching development system, apparatus, whatever, than not being able to develop starting pitching.
28:06 Because there's like three or four teams that can develop starting pitching.
28:10 And as nice as it would be for Jack Leiter and maybe even Cole Winn and Owen White to just all figure it out and contribute at the big league level as a starting pitcher, that'd be nice.
28:22 That'd be super nice. And that would be a nice way to feel not as bad about not bringing back Jordan Montgomery.
28:29 But it doesn't mean that it's going to happen.
28:33 But in the pen, I think a lot of these guys could be very, very helpful.
28:37 I think Mark Church is another guy who's going to be on the fringes. He's on the 40-man roster.
28:42 He has got an incredibly disgusting slider.
28:45 He's also got a pretty big walk problem and was lit up a little bit in AAA last year.
28:51 And I think he needs to get that walk problem a little bit more under control.
28:55 He needs to be able to at least keep hitters honest and make them chase that slider.
29:02 So he can stay in the zone, get some called strikes with that slider and get some more called strikes with that fastball and not just leave it middle of the zone.
29:10 I think that could be -- he's got a lot of potential.
29:13 I mean, he's got just such a nasty, nasty breaking ball that can get big league hitters out right now.
29:19 And he's on the 40-man roster, and I think he will make his big league debut at some point this year.
29:24 I'm a little surprised that Grant Anderson got the nod over him to make his big league debut last year.
29:30 I think his ceiling is definitely higher than Grant Anderson's.
29:33 But, hey, we saw Anderson have some success at the big league level, especially against righties, not so much against lefties.
29:40 But I think Carson Coleman is another guy to keep an eye on.
29:42 He's not going to be on the opening day roster because he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery.
29:48 He's the Rangers' Rule 5 draft pick from the Yankees.
29:51 He has got some pretty nasty stuff. I think he could be in the majors at some point this year.
29:56 The Rangers are pretty hopeful on him.
29:58 Jose Corniel is a guy who is added to the 40-man roster this year.
30:02 He is going to stay as a starter for as long as the Rangers can keep him there.
30:06 But if he does end up moving to the pen, he could be some midseason help at the deadline.
30:12 So the Rangers don't have to trade for a reliever.
30:14 They can just bring a guy up, which would be very, very nice because this is not something they have been able to do.
30:19 And one last guy I did want to mention that I think could make an impact either in the pen or maybe as a starter.
30:26 Jake Latz, the lefty, who only pitched a couple of innings last year, but hey, he will still get a World Series Championship ring.
30:34 Three games, six and a third innings with a zero ERA last year, which was very nice.
30:42 Latz only pitched in three games last year, but win at least two innings in all of them.
30:46 All of them losses, all of them just munching up innings, but they were very, very valuable innings of just saving that pen just a little bit.
30:54 He pitched a couple of innings in a blowout loss to the Angels, a couple of innings in a blowout loss to the Mariners.
30:59 Both of those at the end of September where the Rangers just needed every inning they could get.
31:03 He's a guy who I think could factor into this bullpen this year.
31:06 I don't know if he makes the opening day rotation, but don't sleep on Jake Latz because that is a name that you could see in the pen.
31:13 Maybe on opening day or maybe just a little bit later, but definitely a guy who I think has some big league reliever potential.
31:19 That's going to do it for today's show.
31:21 Thank you all so much for listening and subscribing.
31:23 This first week is pre-training. We'll be back five days a week.
31:26 Next week, we may have a bonus show for you on Saturday or just six shows next week.
31:30 Thank you all so much for listening and subscribing.
31:32 Until next time, don't forget to enjoy World Series champion Texas Rangers baseball.
31:36 [END]