Drew Robinson brought ‘quiet confidence’ to first Rangers’ camp

Drew Robinson had no words, he said, to describe how he felt moments after Saturday’s last spring game when he learned he had made the Rangers’ 25-man roster.

“I knew I had a good chance if I just did what I was able to do on the field,” said Robinson, who is one of nine Rangers to earn their first Opening Day roster spot. “I always thought it was a possibility but I had to go out and prove it.”

Robinson and reliever Mike Hauschild are set to make their major league debuts. Right-hander reliever Jose Leclerc, who pitched 15 innings for the Rangers in ’16, earned one of eight bullpen spots.

“I didn’t believe it,” said Leclerc, who struck out 13 batters in 11 1/3 spring innings. Leclerc, who walked six batters this spring, has worked to improve his control.

“Be more in control, don’t try to overthrow,” he said. “Before I tried to do more and more and that’s why I missed the zone.”

Robinson said he came into his first major league spring camp with a quiet confidence. “I knew with my versatility I could bring a lot to the table,” he said.

Rangers 25-man roster:

Pitchers (12): Dario Alvarez, Tony Barnette, Matt Bush, Alex Claudio, Yu Darvish, Sam Dyson, A.J. Griffin, Cole Hamels, Mike Hauschild, Jeremy Jeffress, Jose Leclerc, Martin Perez.

Catchers (2): Robinson Chirinos, Jonathan Lucroy.

Infielders (6): Elvis Andrus, Joey Gallo, Mike Napoli, Rougned Odor, Jurickson Profar, Drew Robinson.

Outfielders (5): Shin-Soo Choo, Delino DeShields, Carlos Gomez, Nomar Mazara, Ryan Rua.

This story was originally published April 2, 2017 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Drew Robinson brought ‘quiet confidence’ to first Rangers’ camp."