It was a good week for Texas Rangers, despite being swept by Seattle Mariners
It turned out to be a pretty good week for the Texas Rangers, despite being swept by the Seattle Mariners.
The Rangers rallied to score five runs in the bottom of the ninth, including Jason Martin’s three-run home run, Thursday but lost 9-8 in 11 innings Thursday afternoon at Globe Life Field.
Joe Barlow surrendered the deciding blow, a two-run homer to Ty France in the 11th.
But it wasn’t all bad for the Rangers. Adolis Garcia hit his 27th homer in the sixth inning Thursday, moving closer to Pete Incaviglia’s Rangers rookie record of 30 homers in a season.
They may have found two potential starters for the 2022 rotation and updated minor league talent ratings have recently given some love to the Rangers’ farm system.
Starting pitchers Taylor Hearn and Mike Foltynewicz both had solid outings in the first two games of the series Tuesday and Wednesday.
Spencer Howard, who was acquired in the trade that sent Kyle Gibson to the Phillies, was rocked for five runs on five hits, including a three-run homer by Mitch Haniger in the second inning Thursday. The Rangers were hoping Howard could last four innings, but he was done after 52 pitches in two.
Hearn, however, had his best start in the series opener, allowing two runs over a career-high five innings. He threw a career-high 72 pitches as he continues to stretch out from his previous reliever role.
And Foltynewicz threw his third consecutive quality start Wednesday, despite allowing his major league-leading 34th home run. He held the Mariners to two runs over six innings.
Foltynewicz credited more attention to the gameplan before his starts and rehashing said gameplan with the batters due up between innings during games.
“Where do I attack this guy, where do I miss,” he said. “Not only that but being more aggressive with my delivery, really trying to drive that left leg through the ground. That really added more spin to all of my pitches. A lot of things have contributed to my success.”
As for the updated minor league talent ratings, MLB Pipeline updated its individual top prospect rankings and included five Rangers in its top 100.
No. 2 overall draft pick Jack Leiter received the organizations highest rating at No. 12. Third baseman Josh Jung (No. 52), right-hander Cole Winn (No. 66), second baseman Justin Foscue (No. 90), and catcher/first baseman Sam Huff (No. 100) round out the list.
On Monday, Baseball America released its updated rankings of minor league talent and the Rangers’ system improved to No. 11 from No. 24.
Rangers manager Chris Woodward thinks the system talent would have ranked higher had the 2020 minor league season not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I feel like we have a ton of talent. We have a lot of quality makeup players down there,” Woodward said. “We’ve got winners, so it’s exciting. I know this year on the big league level hasn’t gone very well as far as wins and losses, but there’s a lot to be excited for as we move forward.”
As the Rangers continue to assess the players currently on the major league roster with an eye towards how they may or may not fit into the long-term rebuild plans, Woodward said he’s kept an eye on the rising talent up and down the system.
“It could all come together pretty nicely as far as having a lot of quality additions when we need it,” he said.
Assistant GM leaves Rangers
Rangers assistant general manager Shiraz Rehman has left the organization this week, the team announced during Thursday’s game.
Rehman joined the organization in 2018 after seven season with the Chicago Cubs. He has served as an assistant GM for 10 of his 17 season in the league.
“After discussions with Shiraz, we mutually agreed that it is best to part ways at this time,” Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels said in a release. “Shiraz has expressed a desire to seek a new opportunity where he can utilize his experiences and take on a more significant role than we currently have available.”
The addition of general manager Chris Young this season left Rehman feeling as if his future with the organization was in doubt. He told the Dallas Morning News that the “redistribution of front office responsibilities after Chris came aboard this winter left me with a less fulfilling and impactful role.”
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 12:00 AM.
