Texas Rangers 2025 Spring Training Thread

[saddles]

Waiting a bit shortens his clock.

Once again, the Rangers' MO is not to be concerned with a player's clock. That is one area where my philosophy and the Rangers' are the same. Lol

 

[saddles]

kind of expectation. lol.
Will be interesting how this plays out

Injuries could play a part in a number of ways. The timing of an injury could affect things greatly. Performances by the big league pen will play a huge part.

There is always a possibility Teodo could be called on to make a start in the big leagues, by June 1.

Hales and/or Magdaleno could look so sharp that one or both of them could get the call to come up to the big league pen. Some thought Magdaleno was going to be taken in the Rule 5 draft last December.

Don't discount Robby Ahlstrom.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I am not banking on a trade. If Barlow becomes hot this may delay Teodo from coming up

Bennie - you have a different philosophy than the Rangers.
I bet Teodo is chomping to be added as a closer. Much more money with his cheap signing bonus

I think at this point in time with his repertoire he will come out of the pen. If he could be an elite closer, which I think he could be, that would be huge.

 

[saddles]

I think at this point in time with his repertoire he will come out of the pen. If he could be an elite closer, which I think he could be, that would be huge.

That is completely understandable given that he has only pitched 86 innings above the "A" level, so far, in his career. A lot of guys with that level of experience have only limited success with some of the pitches in their repertoire. Some never improve on their secondaries and become destined for the pen. Others show strong development late in their AA and/or their AAA levels. Bradford was like that. Time will tell with guys like Teodo, Santos and Rosario.

 

[Kelleyman]

Will say this that we need adequate starter depth in case of injury
To me the obvious ones are
Dane
Kumar
Leiter

There are others but not wanting Teodo to start in case on injury too early

 

[saddles]

Will say this that we need adequate starter depth in case of injury
To me the obvious ones are
Dane
Kumar
Leiter

There are others but not wanting Teodo to start in case on injury too early

Maybe the other Dane, as well.

 

[saddles]

Some high school prospects to keep in mind for the MLB draft in 4 months. These writeups are from maxpreps.com

Kruz Schoolcraft, Sunset (Portland, Ore.)
Formerly in the Class of 2026, Schoolcraft reclassified last year. He ranks as one of the tallest players in the 2025 draft at 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds. As he adds pounds to his frame, look for him to add miles per hour to his fastball, which currently sits in the lows 90. He also brings a change-up and a breaking ball in his arsenal, giving him three "out" pitches. Likely goes somewhere between 10-15.

Xavier Neyens, Mount Vernon (Wash.)
The state of Washington has had only three high school players chosen among the top five picks and none since 1999 but Neyens could buck that trend. One of the top offensive players in the draft, Neyens also adds plus power to the mix. Currently a shortstop, Neyens could move to third base or possibly a corner outfield position due to a strong arm.

Eli Willits, Fort Cobb-Broxton (Fort Cobb, Okla.)
A reclassification from the Class of 2026, Willits will be a catch for some lucky team simply due to his age. He will still be six months shy of 18 on draft day. Willits' hitting ability will be another reason to draft him. A switch-hitter, Willits batted over .600 last year and is seen as a plus hitter at the next level. Although he hit 10 home runs as a sophomore, he is not necessarily considered a power-hitting prospect. His fielding ability, however, should be good enough for him to stick at that position. Could go somewhere around picks 10-15.

Sean Gamble, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Gamble is a player with unlimited options when it comes to playing in the field. With a strong arm and plus speed, he can play any of the outfield positions. However, he also has the athletic ability to play the infield at third base or second. He brings a powerful swing and bat speed to the plate. Likely goes somewhere in the last third of the first round.

 

[saddles]

From Shawn McFarland:

Ezequiel Duran is playing first base in the split squad game in Glendale today. He just stretched out to make a nice catch on a Jonathan Ornelas throw that came in a little wide.

 

[saddles]

Cody Bradford goes 4 innings giving up 2 hits, but both were solo HRs. He threw 41 pitches and 32 of them were strikes. He struck out 2. Leiter is on for the 5th.

 

[saddles]

Leiter has done very well through 2 innings. 2 strikeouts, 1 hit and no walks. He has topped out 99.5 mph to his first batter and several 97s and 98s since then. One of his strikeouts was on a curve and the other on a 4 seam fastball.

 

[saddles]

The radio guys just mentioned the wind is extremely hitter friendly today. They said a double that Leiter just gave up would have been an out usually.

 

[saddles]

Leiter finishes his third inning with a strikeout on a curve. He hit 99.6 mph on the second strike of the at bat. 2 hits, 0 walks and 3 strikeouts in 3 shutout innings, so far. 33 pitches and 25 have been strikes.

 

[saddles]

Robert Garcia is another reliever who appeared to get things straightened out during the season last year. From July 3 on he had an ERA of 3.05.

 

[saddles]

Milner and Curvelo put up good innings in the game against the Dodgers.

 

[saddles]

Pillar with 3 hits today and prospect Cam Cauley hot a HR.

 

[saddles]

Church finished out in the 9th. One hit batter, but no hits or walks.

 

[Kelleyman]

Robert Garcia is another reliever who appeared to get things straightened out during the season last year. From July 3 on he had an ERA of 3.05.

He was a little wild today but I am hopeful

 

[saddles]

From Shawn McFarland:

Stock watch: Alejandro Osuna is now slashing .429/.480/.619 this spring.

Today he single off of Kirby Yates’ fastball — which batters hit just .113 against last season — and immediately attempted to steal second.

 

[saddles]

I wonder if Leiter is in the verge of surpassing Rocker on our top prospects list.

 

[saddles]

From Shawn McFarland:



Abimelec Ortiz, Sebastian Walcott and Dylan Dreiling hit the ball harder than Shohei Ohtani, confirmed.