2017 Texas Rangers offseason thread

[DT LUNA]

Lincecum and Bartolo

Probably gives us the most goofy looking pitching staff in the mlb.

If only we could find a position for Joe Buck.

 

[jta4437]

Rangers will win close to 90 games. I'm hoping that Bartolo Colon wins the Cy Young and mentors some of our younger pitchers.

Sure wish DeShields would work himself out of the lineup. He's not consistent and that bothers me.

Problem with that is he's our only CFer right now, so you're hoping for a hole in the lineup

 

[donaldson79]

@Cowboy_Wayz: Do you think Odor will have a comeback season?

Me: We are just starting the fourth exhibition of spring as I answer this and already I've seen three plate appearances from Odor that suggest he's in position to have a bounce back year. The two that stand out most were back-to-back walks. He got to 3-and-1 counts, then took pitches off the plate for a walk. Big difference from last year. He got to 3-and-1 46 times last year. He swung at the next pitch a seemingly impossibly high number of times: 38 (82.7 percent of the time). He's shown in his brief time this spring that he's focusing on the "one pitch, one zone" mentality, trying to eliminate zones and pitches that really troubles him. If he carries that single adjustment into the season it will serve him well. He may never be a .300 hitter, but he's not a .200 guy either.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

 

[True Rangers Fan]

@Cowboy_Wayz: Do you think Odor will have a comeback season?

Me: We are just starting the fourth exhibition of spring as I answer this and already I've seen three plate appearances from Odor that suggest he's in position to have a bounce back year. The two that stand out most were back-to-back walks. He got to 3-and-1 counts, then took pitches off the plate for a walk. Big difference from last year. He got to 3-and-1 46 times last year. He swung at the next pitch a seemingly impossibly high number of times: 38 (82.7 percent of the time). He's shown in his brief time this spring that he's focusing on the "one pitch, one zone" mentality, trying to eliminate zones and pitches that really troubles him. If he carries that single adjustment into the season it will serve him well. He may never be a .300 hitter, but he's not a .200 guy either.

This will be the year Odor wins you back, Don.

 

[saddles]

 

[True Rangers Fan]

at this point i think they're just stockpiling for the hell of it.

 

[DT LUNA]

This will be the year Odor wins you back, Don.

Don't leave the rest of us out.

 

[saddles]

at this point i think they're just stockpiling for the hell of it.

Maybe his price went up when MLB said they were going to fine him.

 

[saddles]

Ranking Rangers prospects: The right-handed pitchers

1. Hans Crouse (2nd round/2017)

The repertoire is electric and the debut numbers were insane, but for some, the piece that has the chance to put a bow on this package is Crouse’s mound demeanor. Nearly every published draft report on the 19-year-old from Dana Point, California made reference to an overly-competitive approach that apparently rubbed some wrong, but by all accounts, he was a star among Rangers teammates and coaches for the exact same character traits that had apparently raised red flags for others.


After signing for $1.45 million in a $926,500 slot as the next-to-last pick in last summer’s second round, Crouse blew through the Arizona League over 11 carefully-allotted appearances, allowing one earned run over 20 regular-season innings while holding hitters to an anemic .109/.216/.188 slash line (seven hits, 30 strikeouts, and seven walks) before getting seven of his 11 outs on strikes in the Rangers’ season-ending playoff loss to the Giants’ AZL squad.


The 6’5” righty’s fastball sits 96-99, and he complements it with a wipeout breaking ball that scouts believe will be a plus offering as well (and that he’s already shown an aptitude for adding and subtracting off of). The changeup is a work in progress, not uncommon for high school pitchers who scarcely needed a third offering. There’s some noisy cross-body action in Crouse’s delivery that leads some to see a future in late relief, but be assured that the Rangers are developing this player with post-season starts dominating their vision.


When it comes to starting pitchers, the stuff and the ability to harness and vary it come first. But tack on a Clemens/Lee/Scherzer/Sale/Bumgarner/Stroman disposition, and you’ve got the real possibility of something special.


“Hans was a unique high school product. He arrived as both a power guy and a touch-and-feel guy, too. He can go get 99 when he needs it, but he’s also able to locate it. We don’t worry about his mechanics. The mechanics are good, and he has the ability to sync the timing of his arm well with his delivery.” — Jayce Tingler, Rangers Assistant General Manager

 

[saddles]

Crouse is one of the few guys that I actually fell in love with his potential even before the Rangers drafted him. As dismal as I think this coming season looks, guys like Crouse and Ragans have me really excited about our future.

 

[saddles]

2. Kyle Cody (6th round/2016)


Cody was the highest pick the Twins had failed to sign in 15 years when they couldn’t prevent the second-rounder from returning to the University of Kentucky for his senior year after the 2015 draft. College seniors don’t have much leverage on draft day, and when Texas took Cody in the sixth round in 2016, he signed for $150,000 — roughly $100,000 under slot —after reportedly coming relatively close to a Minnesota deal the summer before (in spite of some medical concerns) in what was an $839,700 slot. He could be on his way to making the lost bonus money irrelevant.


After a solid debut summer with the Rangers, Cody took off in 2017 in his first full season. The Rangers implemented a program at the lower levels of the farm system last year that limited starting pitchers to fastballs the first time through the order until they’d hit certain strike efficiencies over eight starts, after which they’d be allowed to mix in their secondaries early in the game. Viewing Cody’s season through that filter is instructive. Assigned to Low A Hickory out of camp, the 6’7” right-hander went 2-6, 4.53 (.272/.339/.403 opponents’ slash line) over his first 11 starts, but from that point on, with improved fastball command and the use of his full repertoire, he was dominant, going 4-0, 0.82 (.142/.215/.169) in seven remaining Crawdads starts and then 3-0, 2.05 (.225/.310/.279) in five starts for High A Down East.


Featuring a heavy mid-90s fastball that he sinks and locates, offset by a putaway slider and developing change, the 22-year-old issued only 42 unintentional walks in 126 combined frames, fanning 136, and he led the Rangers system with a 2.64 ERA while yielding only four home runs and a whole bunch of ground balls. Significantly, Cody limited opponents to a .219 batting average in 2017, after a .293 mark the year before against Short-Season A Northwest League lineups. The Rangers rave about Cody’s tenacity and ability to adjust. The numbers in 2017 bear that out.


“We all thought Kyle was better than he pitched at Kentucky. Our pitching guys DC [Danny Clark], Jeff Andrews, Jose Jaimes, and Joey Seaver should be applauded for getting him straight mechanically and mentally. Kyle’s a great kid who works his ass off and has gotten in tremendous shape. He has the desire to be good.” — Kip Fagg, Rangers Senior Director, Amateur Scouting

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Don't leave the rest of us out.

Did Roogie lose you too? Is it just me that still supports him? LOL

 

[saddles]

3. A.J. Alexy (Trade with Los Angeles Dodgers/2017)


The Rangers conducted a study several years ago that broke down where Hall of Fame-level ballplayers come from, and there was an interesting result. The concentration of hitters from southern states (and south of the nation) was significantly higher than that of pitchers, the conclusion being that regions that play baseball year-round or close to it are great for the development of young hitters — but bad for young pitchers’ arm health. The fact that Alexy, who came to Texas in the Yu Darvish trade with the Dodgers, is a Pennsylvania kid doesn’t mean he’s on his way to Cooperstown, but it probably means there’s less wear on his arm than, say, a kid from Beaumont or Maracaibo.


None of that is to suggest that the Rangers targeted the 19-year-old based on geography, but it might be just one more reason to be intrigued by what the projectable righty could become. Signed for $597,500 out of the 11th round in 2016 — effectively reducing the Dodgers’ bonus pool for Rounds 1-10 by nearly $500,000 — Los Angeles held him to 13.2 pro innings that summer before turning him loose in 2017. The club made the aggressive decision to assign him to full-season ball out of camp, placing him in the rotation with Low A Great Lakes, where he was three years younger than the average Midwest Leaguer. In his first start he fired three no-hit innings, and through four starts, he’d allowed one run on four hits and one walk (.095/.136/.119) over 12.2 frames, punching out 19.


Three months later, Alexy was shipped to Texas with Willie Calhoun and Brendon Davis, and he was nearly as dominant with his new organization. One start for Low A Hickory went poorly, but the four around it were outstanding, as the 6’4”, 195-pounder yielded one run on eight hits in 19 innings, setting 26 down on strikes — though he did walk 13.


For the year, in 24 starts, Alexy used a low-90s fastball (that promises more) with life and a wipeout curve (that might be the best among the organization’s young pitchers) to hold opponents to a .180/.307/.265 slash line. Despite his young age (he’s four months younger than lefthander Cole Ragans, for instance, and yet pitched a level ahead of him in 2017) and relative inexperience — not just in pro ball but also by virtue of pitching in Northern climates as an amateur — Alexy flashes a precocious feel for his craft. The upside is packed with enough promise to hold onto hope that the Darvish trade will ultimately be thought of as more than merely “Calhoun plus two.”


“[Pro scout] Jay Eddings did a good job identifying A.J. as a young projection starting pitcher. We were blanketing the Dodgers’ system by June and July as we prepared to gear up for the deadline and [pro scouts] Mike Grouse and Jonathan George and [former Special Assistant to the GM] James Keller followed up with similar-level strong interest. His live arm, lean projection frame at 6’4”, and cold weather profile in the Northeast made him particularly attractive, and he's only continued to progress and impress since we acquired him.” — Josh Boyd, Rangers Assistant General Manager

 

[saddles]

4. Tyler Phillips (16th round/2015)


After a standout debut as the Rangers’ 16th-round pick in 2015, Phillips got an eye-opening opportunity as a 17-year-old to throw batting practice to the big club on a late-September road trip in Houston as the Rangers readied themselves for the playoffs.


Though his 2016 season with Short-Season A Spokane didn’t go as well, Texas nonetheless challenged the strike-thrower in 2017 with an aggressive assignment out of camp to Low A Hickory, where he was three years young for the league. His work with the Crawdads was inconsistent, however, and led to a return to Spokane when the Northwest League opened play in June, and the 6’5” righthander scuffled early.


But Phillips then turned the corner over the final two months of the season, going 4-1, 2.39 in eight starts with a staggering ratio of 55 punchouts to five walks in 49 innings. As excited as the Rangers’ development people were about the progress the righthander made in the summer, they were thrilled to see how much strength he’d added in his off-season program when he reported to early minor league camp this month in Surprise.


Phillips is likely headed for a second run at South Atlantic League lineups with Hickory this spring, with an opportunity to prove that the projectability and the flashes of dominance are starting to actualize into something more consistent and that he’s ready once and for all to leave the short-season leagues behind.


“The way Tyler came on late in the season was so rewarding for him personally, because so many pitching coaches had been pounding the table for so long that it was in there. He’s really found his confidence — he was probably one of the last to figure out he’s really good.” — Jayce Tingler, Rangers Assistant General Manager

 

[DT LUNA]

Did Roogie lose you too? Is it just me that still supports him? LOL

Yes but will support if he quits swinging at ghost balls.

 

[saddles]

5. Jonathan Hernandez (International free agent/2013)


When Texas outspent all of baseball on the international free agent market in 2013, the headline signings were outfielder Jose Almonte, righthander Marcos Diplan, and shortstops Yeyson Yrizarri and Michael De Leon. Diplan, who was traded to Milwaukee in the 2015 Yovani Gallardo deal, is the only one of that group to earn 40-man roster status this off-season, shielding them from the Rule 5 Draft. While he was less heralded than his J2 classmates, Hernandez was as easy a roster call for the Rangers in November as Diplan was for the Brewers.


The son of former big league righty Fernando Hernandez — who was once traded for Rangers assistant hitting coach Justin Mashore — the 21-year-old has moved methodically through the Texas system. He spent two seasons in the Dominican Summer League, one in the rookie-level Arizona League, and the next with Low A Hickory, while in 2017 he split time between Hickory and High A Down East. Hernandez was scuffling statistically (5.17 ERA, .323/.369/.468 opponents’ slash line) between the Crawdads and Wood Ducks when he joined the World Team at the All-Star Futures Game in Miami in July, but he was lights out upon his return to the Carolina League. Over the final seven weeks of the summer, he posted a 2.01 ERA and held opponents to a .211/.317/.310 slash line, commanding a mid-90s fastball with armside run, a sharp slider, and a developing change.


Hernandez, who may have the fastest arm in the system, showed a tremendous feel for pitching as soon as he arrived five years ago. The velocity has come since, and in 2017, reaching High Class A for the first time, he posted a career-best 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings. He won’t break camp with the big club, but he’s in the picture now, and he’s earned a taste this spring of the big league routine and an opportunity to suit up each day, for at least a while, alongside Mashore.


“Jonathan is maturing in his approach to all that goes into allowing himself to grow as a pitcher. There is a consistent focus on every pitch, focus on his process over results. It’s coming together.” — Jeff Andrews, Rangers Assistant Minor League Pitching Coordinator

 

[saddles]

6. Michael Matuella (3rd round/2015)


It’s almost misleading to even run down the statistical season that Matuella, once a candidate to be the top overall pick in the draft, put together in 2017, because the campaign was all about one thing: Getting on the mound and staying there. And the 23-year-old did that.


Arriving in pro ball (as the Rangers’ third-round pick in 2015) with a history of elbow and back issues, Matuella rehabbed for a full year before making his debut in June 2016. In his first pro appearance, however, he came out of a three-inning (scoreless) effort with an elbow sprain that ended his season.


Ready to go again late in April 2017, he spent the entire year in Low A Hickory’s rotation. Texas carefully monitored the big righthander’s workload, not letting him go a complete two times through a lineup until the end of July — and not really taking the reins off his plus slider all season — but he got through the year healthy (for the first time since 2014, his sophomore season at Duke University), and that’s success. The South Atlantic League hit .297/.357/.446 off Matuella, and he struck out 60 hitters in 75 innings while issuing 23 walks but, again, the numbers are basically an afterthought given his 2017 action plan. He started the year pitching and finished it that way, too, and 2018 will be the year when we’ll start to look at how effective Matuella can be when he’s turned loose with his high-end stuff.


Expect the next step in Matuella’s development to be an assignment to High A Down East in Kinston, North Carolina, 100 miles from the college campus where the big righty was once thought of as perhaps the best amateur pitcher in the country.


“Credit to Match. He has worked hard this winter on a couple things from our pitching coaches and it has really freed his hand up. The ball is coming out clean and he’s been consistently in the zone. We’re excited to see him continue down this path and where it takes him.” — Corey Ragsdale, Rangers Minor League Field Coordinator

 

[saddles]

A change to today's lineup puts Choo in RF and Mazara at DH.

 

[saddles]