The Texas Rangers have reinstated pitching prospect Owen White from the Injured List. White, 23, had been on the Injured List since July 26th with what was described at the time as forearm soreness.
The timing was unfortunate as White had just been promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders where he had been dominating opposing batters prior to his injury.
He made four starts with the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate, the Frisco RoughRiders and had been dominating opposing hitters. He had a 3-0 win-loss record with a 2.49 earned run average across 21.2 innings. He struck out 23 batters, issued 4 walks and posted a 1.062 WHIP.
Prior to being promoted to Frisco, White had proven that he didn’t need to spend additional time in High-A. In 58,2 innings, he had a 6-2 win-loss record with a 3.99 earned run average. He struck out an impressive 81 batters and issued 19 walks.
Due to Tommy John and Covid, White did not pitch professionally until the 2021 season where he enjoyed a breakout season. He pitched to a 3.06 ERA with 56 strikeouts in 35.1 innings between Low-A Hickory and the Arizona Complex League.
He was assigned to the Arizona Fall League in 2021, to help him get more innings. Dominant is the word I would use to describe his performance. White was named the AFL’s pitcher of the year. He posted a 5-0 win-loss record with a 1.91 earned run average. Very impressive considering that Arizona is not pitcher friendly.
The RoughRiders will be happy to have White back as they look to continue their push to make it to the Texas League Championship. Due to the amount of time he hasn’t pitched in a game there are two options. One is that he will start the game on Friday (if needed)/Sunday (if they advance to the Championship), or he could start a game, but his innings will be heavily managed.
The Rangers will look to keep White healthy as he looks to continue his ascent through their farm system. With any luck, he’ll be pitching in Arlington sooner rather than later.
