The Rangers have been known for not being able to ever develop major league starters or just pitching in general. We all have seen that over the years with the Rangers teams being able to hit but pitching not being able to carry them to the end. One of the most notable examples being David Clyde. He was drafted in 1973 after a decorated high school career being one of the most dominant high school pitchers ever. The Rangers decided to draft him and let him pitch two games in the big leagues to get people in the seats, then send him down to the minors. David Clyde ended up netting sell out crowds and the Rangers saw that as an opportunity to get some money. In his first two games Clyde was very solid. After that he started to trend down and eventually was out of the league after five years. However, this year the Rangers have several minor league guys that showed promise and had good seasons in the minors. I’m going to name off seven guys that have showed a lot of promise not named Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter.
Alejandro Rosario
Was a 2023 draftee being drafted in the 5th round as the 144th overall pick. Prior to being drafted Rosario attended the University of Miami logging a 6.53 ERA over three seasons. The Rangers made some adjustments in his delivery and his release point. Which granted him more success on his fastball. After that Rosario never really looked back and was dominant in low A posting a 2.11 ERA while striking out 69 hitters in 47 innings, and only letting opponents hit .200 off of him. In addition, after 47 innings in low A he got a promotion to high A with the Hickory Crawdads. His dominance didn’t stop in low A he continued on to high A posting a 2.40 ERA while striking out 60 hitters in 41 ⅓ innings, and opponents only hit .214 against him. Across both teams he posted a 36.85% K rate. He has shown to have good control of his pitches, only walking two hitters at the most in four of his seventeen starts in 2024. He has pitched his way to the 86th ranked prospect in baseball, and the 3rd ranked prospect in the Rangers system according to MLB Pipeline. He will definitely be a player to watch for the Rangers this season. I have a feeling that the Rangers will put him in AA with the Roughriders to start the year. However, I also won’t be surprised if they don’t want to rush him and they start him with the Rangers new high A affiliate called the Hub City Spartanburgers.
Winston Santos
He was signed in 2019 being a part of the 2019 international draft class signing at a low cost of $10,000. His first two years in pro ball he pitched relatively well, tossing a 3.38 ERA in that span while only letting hitters hit .211 off of him and having about average strikeout numbers. However, 2023 was a different story. In high A with the Hickory Crawdads he posted a 6.29 ERA and hitters hit .295 against him. Santos fine tuned his mechanics in late 2023 which translated into succession the 2024 season. He tossed 110 1/3 innings for 2 teams posting a 3.67 ERA while striking out 138 hitters giving him a 30% K rate. His fastball sits in the mid 90s and gets up to 98 with an above average change up in the mid 80s. He is projected to be a middle of the rotation guy. He has become one of the Rangers top pitching prospects and is currently ranked the 8th prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Emiliano Teodo
He signed at the beginning of 2020 for a bargain at $10,000 out of the Dominican Republic at 19 years old. During a fall league after his pro debut in 2021 he topped out at 102. In his first year with the team he posted a 3.38 ERA as a reliever while striking out 48 hitters in 29 1/3 innings while holding opponents to a .214 average. In his second year with the team he played in he started 17 games for the Down East Wood ducks posting a 3.09 ERA while striking out 115 hitters in 84 1/3 innings, and holding opponents to a .171 average. While his 2023 season wasn’t as successful posting a 4.52 ERA, he still had good strikeout numbers having 84 K’s in 61 2/3 innings. In 2024 with the Frisco Roughriders in AA he was dominant, posting a 1.98 ERA and striking out 11 batters in 86 1/3 innings. As well as opponents only hitting .178 against him. He was also a part of the All Star Futures Game where he pitched two innings and only threw 14 pitches and only threw 2 balls, while tallying one strike out. I see Teodo being an effective MLB reliever but he does project to a middle of the rotation starter. His elite fastball and the plus slider plays better as a reliever. He switched over to throwing a two-seam fastball that has good sinking action on it, which he started to locate better. He also has a changeup that has splitter action that can miss some bats. I think he ends up playing a big part in the pitching staff soon. I think he breaks into the bigs earliest at the end of this year with the possibility of starting 2026 on the big league roster.
Kohl Drake
Drafted in 2022 in the 11th round being the 319th overall pick. He started his college career at the age of 19 at Arkansas Tech posting a rough 6.21 ERA 33 1/3 innings. After that he attended Walters State(Tennessee). He ended up winning JUCO pitcher of the year in 2021-2022 posting a 1.93 ERA with a 15.43 K rate. Then was drafted after that season in the 11th round by the Rangers. His first season in pro ball he struggled a bit posting a 6.36 ERA across two teams and opponents hit .305 against him. After the 2023 season Kohl worked out to lose 25 pounds off of his 6 foot 5 frame, and now he goes down the mound better and more explosively. Now sitting 92-94 and can touch upper 90s. His mid 90s fastball pairs well with is low 80s change up that fades away from right handed hitters. With the work he put in the offseason, in 2024 he posted a 2.29 ERA across three levels of minor league ball. He made his way up to AA where he posted a 3.10 ERA in 20 1/3 innings while striking out 20 hitters, and holding opponents to a .155 average. He is the 20th ranked Rangers prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He will be due to move up in the rankings if he continues how he is pitching. He is one of my favorite pitching prospects and will be happy to keep up with him if he starts the year in Frisco.
David Davalillo
Davalillo was signed on June 7th in 2022, and was assigned to DSL TEX. In 2023 he was promoted to the ACL Rangers in June where he spent three months pitching, posting a 3.71 ERA in 17 innings pitched starting two games. Then he was called up to low A with the Down East Wood Ducks where he finished his year starting one game going 4 2/3 innings posting a 1.93 ERA with 7 strikeouts. In 2024 he started 16 games throwing 80 1/3 innings posting a 1.79 ERA striking out 79 hitters. After those 80 1/3 innings he was called up to high A with the Hickory Crawdads on August 6th. After being promoted he went on to start 5 games throwing 30 innings the rest of the year. With the Crawdads he posted a 2.10 ERA striking out 34 hitters. He has a mid-to-high 90s fastball to pair with a curveball that has worked for him so far in the minors.
Bryan Magdaleno
Magdaleno was signed to a minor league deal on August 23rd 2019. He was put on the DSL Rangers roster in July of 2021 posting a 2.95 ERA in 36 2/3 innings while striking out 35 hitters. Then he was put on the ACL Rangers in June of 2022 where he pitched not great, posting a 4.12 ERA in 19 2/3 innings, and striking out 18 hitters. In 2023 he did not have a great year where he posted a 7.13 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with two teams being the ACL Rangers and the Down East Wood Ducks. However, 2024 was a completely different story for him. He posted a 1.72 ERA across three teams logging 42 2/3 innings. He started in low A posting a 1.72 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings, then he was called up to high A. There he did not give up a run in 8 innings striking out 14 hitters earning him a quick call up to AA Frisco. For the Roughriders he also didn’t give up a run logging 4 innings for the Riders and striking out 7 hitters. Magdaleno is a hard throwing lefty that comes out of the bullpen. He also has a wipe out slider to pair with his hard fastball. Although, he is a little wild and falls victim to a high walk rate posting a 4.43 BB/9 in 2024. He also fits the mold to be a reliever in the majors if he can continue to develop and build off of his year in 2024.
Skylar Hales
Hales was drafted in 2023 in the 4th round 108th overall in the draft. His three years in college he pitched in the West Coast Conference for Santa Clara. While pitching there he posted a 4.38 ERA with 168 strikeouts in 156 1/3 innings. In his first year of pro ball he logged 10 2/3 innings with a 4.22 ERA. His second year of pro ball was definitely better, posting a 3.18 ERA in 56 2/3 innings while striking out 66 hitters. He was called up to AA Frisco and posted a 2.10 ERA. He easily fits the profile as a reliever. He has a big fastball that is graded 70 out of 80 and also has a slider to pair with the fastball. In my eyes he fits the mold to be a reliever in the big leagues. Which would be good for the Rangers because it seems they always have to spend money on bullpen arms.
Honorable mentions- Ryan Lobus and Izack Tiger
Ryan Lobus who was signed as a free agent after the draft. He did not pitch very well in college posting a 6.96 ERA. He relied more on his slider and lost a feel for his fastball. He went to Tread Athletics to train and fix some things. After that he clicked with the Rangers and continued to get better at every level he played at in 2024. He throws a fastball with a wipe out gyro slider that was a good wipeout pitch for him.
Tiger, who was drafted in the 7th round 201st overall in 2023 has pitched well in the minors for the Rangers. Having a career 2.88 ERA in 2 years logging 50 innings. He started 12 games this year, he throws a high 90s fastball that can run up to 100, a good slider, as well as a splitter that is above average. He could possibly be a starter, but I think he better fits the mold as a reliever.
It’s not a complete guarantee that all these guys become good pitchers in the MLB but it gives us some hope that the Rangers can develop pitchers, and that Chris Young kept his promise. He stated that he wants the Rangers to be known for their pitching. If these pitchers continue their success into the MLB it’s safe to say Chris Young’s team will earn that title.
