Series Thread: Rangers Travel to Colorado for Two Games August 23-24

[armadillooutlaw]

How many Spencer Howards is Nathaniel Lowe worth in trade?

 

[True Rangers Fan]

I'm really starting to like this Bubba kid

 

[Kelleyman]

I say let

I'm really starting to like this Bubba kid

Never put the brakes in his running

 

[armadillooutlaw]

I'm really starting to like this Bubba kid

He has a lot of ability with his defense, great speed and power potential. He needs to start about every game the rest of the season.

 

[Duane1952]

I like this lineup

 

[WastinSomeTime]

0-2 and 4 straight garbage pitches by Perez.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

Great after that.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Great after that.

Trust Teen.

 

[saddles]

From Jeff Wilson:

White is building back up after taking time off for what was initially diagnosed as shoulder fatigue. Upon further testing, he had some discomfort in the back of his arm and his stay on the injured list was extended.

The right-hander is expected to pitch again this season, though, his last few outings might be with Triple A Round Rock instead of Double A Frisco depending on if he’s ready to go before the Double A season ends.

Fenstermaker also said that White could pitch in fall instructs as the Rangers hope for him to reach an innings threshold to build upon in 2023.

“We just wanted to be really diligent about how we manage this workload, given how important he is for us short and long term,” Fenstermaker said.

 

[saddles]

More from Jeff Wilson:

Vanasco or Englert?

Two right-handers at High A Hickory are in a position to be promoted to Frisco for a taste of Double A, though Englert’s late-season surge has put him in a better position than Ricky Vanasco.

Englert has tossed 14 consecutive no-hit innings and has allowed only two runs in his past six starts. Opponents are hitting .189 against him this season in 98 2/3 innings. He’s also averaging more than a strikeout an inning.

Vanasco has pitched well, too, but has run into a wall later in his most recent starts. Though he’s on the 40-man roster, Vanasco didn’t pitch in 2020 and 2021, and entered the season coming off Tommy John surgery.

The Rangers are encouraged with how he has pitched and has stayed healthy throughout the season. The stuff is there, and it should get better in 2023 after he takes the lessons he has learned and applies them similar to what Cole Ragans did after last season.

“It’s tough with these guys with workloads right now because they’re all bumping up against, in a lot of ways, new highs on the season, and Ricky’s coming off Tommy John,” Fenstermaker said. “Getting through the season healthy and maintaining your stuff for a full season is a huge victory. I fully anticipate the stuff bumps up again after this offseason.”

 

[armadillooutlaw]

Martin Perez rocking and rolling.

 

[saddles]

More from Jeff Wilson:

The Rangers’ first-round pick this year at No. 3 overall is in Arizona building up for the starts of fall instructs next month and potentially for the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.

But before rushing to buy tickets, everything is contingent on Rocker … being healthy.

The right-hander is throwing off a mound, though not a full strength just yet. The Rangers want to see a gradual buildup with Rocker satisfying the training staff, both physically and mentally, before putting him into the Fall League..

“He’s chomping at the bit to do it, he wants to do it, but he’s going to have to respond and check every box along the way to make sure that he’s ready for that,” said Rangers vice president Ross Fenstermaker, who oversees player development. “It’s just being really diligent about his buildup, and make sure we get the throwing program right. He’s going to ultimately determine [the Fall League] and how he responds to treatment and our program and protocol.”

What are those boxes to check? It’s all geared toward his health — how his body responds to throwing, how he responds to throwing off a mound, making sure that the data from the super top-secret performance lab matches the Rangers’ idea of a healthy pitcher who is ready to compete.

Fourth-rounder Brock Porter, though, is not likely to pitch this fall.

He is also throwing at the Surprise Recreation Campus, but he was shut down for the six weeks between the end of his high school season in Michigan and the MLB Draft. To build him back up again and have him resume throwing at his high level has been deemed too risky.

Fenstermaker clarified that Porter is not in any kind of de-load program, as was the case with the 2018 draft class. Those pitchers, including Cole Winn, Owen White and Mason Englert, didn’t do any kind of throwing, whereas Porter is on a throwing program.

“We’re not forcing them into games right away,” Fenstermaker said. “We’re having them continue to crank their arms and throw, which isn’t what we did during the de-load program.”

 

[DT LUNA]

Missed some good baseball it seems thru 6. Just got out of denist chair. Teen looking good and Adolis continues to hit. Nice day!

 

[armadillooutlaw]

Missed some good baseball it seems thru 6. Just got out of denist chair. Teen looking good and Adolis continues to hit. Nice day!

Glad to see guys like Lowe and Garcia proving to be building blocks.

 

[True Rangers Fan]

Santana apparently still sucks

 

[DT LUNA]

Santana apparently still sucks

Looks like it.

 

[Kelleyman]

Get someone else up

 

[DT LUNA]

Get someone else up

Yes. Don't let Santanna blow this for the way the team has played.

 

[armadillooutlaw]

Perez was nearly perfect, so of course they put Santana in. Now about to put Sborz in? Bleh. I have noticed that Beasley is even more conservative with pitch counts for the starters than even Woody. Not a fan.

 

[Kelleyman]

Yes. Don't let Santanna blow this for the way the team has played.

3 in and 2 on the base. I call this blown