Series Thread: Rangers Host Oakland For Three Games August 30 - September 1

[saddles]

Oakland has went 28-20 since the end of June. The Rangers have played better at home so maybe we can take 2 of these games.

The Rangers will send Gray and Bradford to the mound in the first two games. The pitcher for the third game has yet to be determined, or at least, it has yet to be announced. The most likely candidate would be a combo of Urena and Heaney. It would only be on 3 days rest for Heaney, but they have such a short leash on him it is more like he is a long reliever who starts games anyway. He threw 71 pitches in his last outing.

I guess there is an outside chance they bring Teodo up for a spot start. He isn't on the 40-man, but he has to be put on the 40-man soon anyway. There are really no other viable options as far as minor league starting pitchers go.

They could just make it a bullpen game, but that really taxes the pen.

The Rangers currently are the 8th worst team in MLB, but occupy the 6th best spot as far as lottery odds for the draft go, as Oakland and the White Sox are ineligible for a lottery pick. The Rangers are not very far from having the 4th best lottery position as they have had their record helped temporarily by playing the White Sox lately. The Pirates and the Nationals are very close to us in the overall standings.

 

[saddles]

From Jeff Wilson:

If both(Grossman and Jankowski) fall off the 40-man roster, a spot could go to Round Rock first baseman Blaine Crim, who has been one of the best hitters in the minor leagues since July 1. If the Rangers are contemplating changing things up at first base next season, they need to see if Crim can hit in the majors.

 

[saddles]

From Baseball America:

What a run for @TEXPlayerDev pitching development.

The Rangers landed THREE pitchers in our list of 2024 breakout pitching prospects today.

Not to mention the recent outings from Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker

 

[saddles]

Baseball America included Alejandro Rosario, Kohl Drake and Ryan Lobus in their list of 10 breakout pitchers for 2024. What an incredible feat to have 30% of them in all of MLB.

Not only that but those three were #1, #4, and #5, so 60% of the top 5.

 

[saddles]

From Baseball America:

Alejandro Rosario, RHP, Rangers

It’s remarkable what a small tweak in usage can do for pitchers coming into professional baseball out of college. Rosario is one such case, as a drop in fastball usage has led to a substantial improvement in results.

While at Miami, Rosario used his fastball 68% of the time in 2023. That number has dropped to 54% since making his pro debut. Rosario is still fastball-dominant, but he’s becoming far less predictable with the pitch. It doesn’t hurt that Rosario has two secondaries that have average or better stuff that play off of his fastball.

Rosario has generated high rates of chase swings against both his slider (39.1%) and changeup (38.9%), helping to boost the swing-and-miss numbers and overall results. There’s potentially some tunneling effects going on. Both pitches have strong vertical separation off of his fastball, though the release heights vary slightly. Rosario fastball shape is below-average on its face, with equal vertical and horizontal movement. When you dig deeper, you see his 5-foot-4 fastball release height creates a flatter plane of approach. This allows the power and above-average armside run to play.

Rosario has an interesting arsenal, he’s throwing consistent strikes and generating swings and misses. This looks like a legitimate breakout.

 

[saddles]

From Baseball America:

Kohl Drake, LHP, Rangers

Drake fell flat in his 2023 professional debut, but has put together a nice 2024 campaign. He jumped three levels this season and reached Double-A, where he has struck out 37.2% of batters this season while holding opponents to a batting average of .199. Drake tossed six scoreless in his return to Double-A on Aug. 25 and should finish the season with Frisco.

Drake saw a velocity bump from his time in Juco, sitting 92-93 mph touching 96 mph at peak. A tall lefthander, Drake gets below-average extension on his fastball but does generate a solid amount of armside movement. The fastball sees a vast majority of Drake’s usage at around 55%. The rest are split between four secondaries: a curveball (13.8% usage), changeup (13.6% usage), slider (9.5% usage) and cutter (8.4% usage). All of his secondaries grade out at fringe-average or below, but he commands his fastball well, and mixes shapes keeping hitters off balance.

Drake has back-of-the-rotation or emergency starter upside. He likely lacks the fastball power or traits to sit in the middle of a big league rotation one day.

 

[saddles]

From Baseball America:

Ryan Lobus, RHP, Rangers

A 2023 nondrafted free agent from Mercer, Lobus was roughed up over two Arizona Complex League appearances in his debut that year. The Rangers assigned him to Low-A Down East out of camp this year, where he worked primarily as a multi-inning reliever. Lobus began to see more starts following a May 14 promotion to High-A Hickory. While a majority of Lobus’ outings are around four innings, he has shown the capacity to go longer.

Lobus is a true slider-first pitcher, throwing it more than 60% of the time. Lobus has two fastball shapes and combines to throw both only 28% of the time. Both pitches sit in the low 90s, but the two-seam shows some sink and run. Lobus also throws a splitter but it only generates fringy results.

Lobus’ slider generates most of his swings and misses with a 21% swinging strike rate. The slider is a classic low-80s sweeper and Lobus leans into its quality, showing advanced feel for the pitch. This likely won’t work as a starter as a professional, but Lobus could be an interesting multi-inning reliever with a signature pitch.

 

[saddles]

And Baseball America didn't even include David Davalillo.

 

[saddles]

 

[scotsman#1948]

And Baseball America didn't even include David Davalillo.

not worried he will be on it in 2025

 

[scotsman#1948]

From Jeff Wilson:

If both(Grossman and Jankowski) fall off the 40-man roster, a spot could go to Round Rock first baseman Blaine Crim, who has been one of the best hitters in the minor leagues since July 1. If the Rangers are contemplating changing things up at first base next season, they need to see if Crim can hit in the majors.

how about Harris?

 

[saddles]

how about Harris?

He didn't come out and say anything about them in this story, but I believe he has mentioned them before. I believe in this statement he was assuming Harris and Foscue would come up. They have the one extra roster spot for position players, so one of those two gets that spot. If either Grossman or Jankowski gets claimed, then both Foscue and Harris get called up. Then, if both Grossman and Jankowski get claimed, Blaine Crim could be the third position player called up. I think that is what Jeff Wilson is saying.

 

[saddles]

MLB Pipeline has moved Rocker up to #100 in their top 100 prospects list, after someone graduated from the list yesterday.

 

[saddles]

From Shawn McFarland:

Bruce Bochy said that Jacob deGrom will make two more rehab starts: this Sunday with Triple-A Round Rock, and another one next Saturday.

 

[DT LUNA]

View attachment 372560

Grossman in the #2 hole. It appears Bochy is throwing in the towel. No Seager. Yep, throwing in the towel.

 

[Senator_fan]

So if nobody claims Grossman and Janko by tomorrow night do they get DFA’d?

 

[Duane1952]

So if nobody claims Grossman and Janko by tomorrow night do they get DFA’d?

Don’t think so. Bochy likes them to much.

 

[saddles]

So if nobody claims Grossman and Janko by tomorrow night do they get DFA’d?

I don't think so, but who knows.

 

[saddles]

From Scott Lucas:

I ignored Blaine Crim Wednesday night because of the Rocker display and lack of time, so now I'll give him his due. He's as locked in as ever, batting .385/.462/.658 since July 1. Maybe those stats include some luck, but that would compensate for his disappointing May and June when he was still hitting the ball reasonably hard but right at people. On Wednesday, he hit three balls in excess of 106 MPH, two of which left the yard, one off rehabbing Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The other was lined to left for a single. He also check-swung an 0-2 pitch through the short-third gap at 88 MPH.

My explanation in 2023 was if he could be transported back to 2021 or 2022, he likely would have received a call-up on the poor Rangers squads, like Curtis Terry did. In 2023, on a squad clawing for every win, someone like Crim wasn't going to get a look. Then, this season, he was hitting .215/.323/.351 through June. Now, he's having the best two months of his life, and the Rangers are eight games under .500. September, perhaps?

To whatever extent Crim is forcing the issue, fitting him in a Texas uniform will take some doing. He's a first baseman, period. The Rangers still have Nate Lowe. I would think 2020 first-rounder Justin Foscue is first in line for any extra September plate appearances. And, of course, Crim would require a 40 spot at someone's expense, and the new CBA limits the active roster to 28 players. The days of wholesale call-ups are over. I understood and agreed with lowering the September active roster from 40, but I'm surprised the union acquiesced to 28.

 

[scotsman#1948]

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