Texas Rangers need to use the not-so-secret formula of the Braves and Dodgers
Much has been made of the great Clayton Kershaw’s failures in the postseason, when the three-time Cy Young winner and a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame has pitched to only a 4.23 ERA.
That’s not all that bad, though all things are relative.
The left-hander from Highland Park has come up short in the biggest of spots, too, such as losing twice with a 7.36 ERA in the 2018 World Series and being unable to keep the Los Angeles Dodgers’ hopes alive in series-ending losses.
Yet, the Dodgers want him to pitch in this National League Championship Series and expect him to start one of the remaining games at Globe Life Field against the Atlanta Braves even though he was scratched early Tuesday from his Game 2 start.
The Dodgers slid right-hander Tony Gonsolin into the spot for his MLB postseason debut. They just happened to have on hold a talented rookie who hadn’t pitched in more than two weeks but had a cool 2.31 ERA in nine regular-season starts.
The Braves had an injury issue to address, too. Outfielder Adam Duval will miss the rest of the postseason because of a strained left oblique muscle, so Atlanta gave his spot in the Tuesday lineup to Cristian Pache, the No. 13 prospect in baseball, and stuck him behind starting pitcher Ian Anderson, who is No. 37.
Atlanta is planning to start fellow right-hander Kyle Wright in Game 3. He checked in at No. 52.
Kershaw, Gonsolin, Pache, Anderson and Wright, along with numerous others like Ronald Acuna Jr. and Cody Bellinger, are all homegrown.
Signing and developing quality big-leaguers is the goal of every organization, and the Dodgers and Braves should be models for the rebuilding Texas Rangers to follow.
At this point, the Rangers are about as far away from being the Dodgers or Braves as possible. The Rangers had the second-worst record in baseball while playing much of the second half with prospects throughout the lineup, and the Dodgers and Braves were two of the best teams in baseball.
Those teams also have a combined nine top-100 prospects, according to mlb.com, and that’s after seeing some rookies lose prospect status during the season.
The Rangers have two top-100 guys, Josh Jung and Sam Huff, though Baseball America didn’t place any Rangers in its top 100.
With no minor-league season this year, the brakes were put on player development for all 30 teams, except for those who were part of the 60-player pool and either received reps at the alternate camp or got a taste of the big leagues.
Teams have ramped up their instructional leagues, and Rangers brass is in Arizona this week to catch a glimpse of the prospects there. Jung and Justin Foscue, the past two first-round picks, along with right-handers Cole Winn and Hans Crouse and infielder Luisangel Acuna headline the group at the Surprise Recreation Campus.
The Rangers wanted rookie players who finished the season in the majors to continue working in Arizona, but the MLB Players Association would not allow players on the 40-man roster to participate at instructs without additional compensation.
The short-sighted decision is preventing players from getting better and putting themselves in a position to improve and make more money in future seasons, perhaps as soon as next year.
As things stand, it is unlikely that Huff, the power-hitting catcher, makes the 2021 Opening Day roster. That same goes for shortstop Anderson Tejeda, outfielders Eli White and Adolis Garcia, and a number of pitchers who could have used more innings to build arm strength for a heavier workload next season.
Nevertheless, the Rangers will need to see some of the prospects who finished the season in the majors convince management they can be part of the future.
“We’re going to need a number of these players to establish themselves as capable of playing winning baseball up here on a consistent basis to really know that we have a kind of a foundation that we can begin adding to externally,” said Rangers general manager Jon Daniels. “We don’t want it to be a perennial competition. We want them to establish a little bit of a foothold and know what we have to build off of.”
Leody Taveras, Nick Solak and Jose Trevino seem to be the only players from that group who look as if they will be regulars in 2021. Right-handed reliever Jonathan Hernandez is a no-brainer for next season. Righty starter Kyle Cody impressed on the mound, but he’ll have an innings limit.
Of the group in Arizona, Jung has the best chance at reaching the major leagues next season even though he has never played a full season in the minors or above Low A. However, he participated at the alternate camp and said the experience made him a better player.
“I haven’t played games yet to really test it, but I feel I am head and heels above who I was coming out of college,” said Jung, who starred at Texas Tech. “Not necessarily performance because I haven’t seen that yet, but knowing and learning and understanding myself, I feel I am a much better player.”
The Rangers need Jung to be a major-leaguer. They need many more along with him, too.
Looking at the NLCS rosters, it’s clear that homegrown talent is pivotal when building a contender.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 11:05 AM.
