The front office was very busy yesterday bringing in players and cutting players as the season draws near. As we have detailed the Rangers are suffering from numerous injuries to start this season, meaning the team needs more depth as we go into the season. Yesterday the team agreed to a contract with former Twins pitcher Scott Baker. Baker had been in the Mariners camp this year and had a 6.45 ERA. He is mainly being brought in as organizational depth. He will start the season pitching for Triple-A Round Rock. The Rangers also claimed infielder Donnie Murphy off waivers from the Chicago Cubs. Murphy at this point with the Rangers infield situation is probably in the running for either second base or utility infielder. Murphy has been in the majors for 8 years and last year was his best season. He had a .255 BA, .319 OBP, and 11 home runs. He is someone who is competent and can fill a role early on in the season. The Rangers will continue looking for infield help inside and outside of the organization as we get closer to the season. The Rangers also claimed right-handed reliever Seth Rosin from the Dodgers. Rosin is a Rule V draft pick from the Phillies. If he doesn’t make the team then he has to be offered back to the Phillies. The Rangers are going to take a look at him this weekend and see if he is worth keeping around.

The Rangers also finalized their rotation for the start of the season. Their rotation will be Tanner Scheppers, Martin Perez, Robbie Ross, Joe Saunders, and Nick Martinez. You may be thinking that is probably what I was thinking was going to happen about 4 of the spots, but Nick Martinez. I had not even heard his name mentioned as far as pitching in Cactus League games or that he was even under consideration for opening up the season in the rotation. That was a complete shocker. It likely is only for one start as Colby Lewis showed yesterday that he is really close to being ready. Lewis pitched yesterday in the final game in Arizona and pitched 5 scoreless innings throwing 72 pitches. He will pitch in a minor league exhibition game next week and hopefully throw 90-100 pitches and then he should be ready to go, by the second week of the season. The Rangers with this move are trying to reward Nick Martinez with how he has been pitching and also wanting to get a look at him against actual major leaguers and see if he can contribute maybe later on this season. That is just incredible though that 4/5 of the opening day rotation is of guys that were drafted and developed by the Rangers organization. I know all of us are looking forward to getting Darvish, Harrison, Lewis, and Holland back in the rotation, but it is nice to have such great depth in our system that we can survive these injuries.

In other and less surprising news Michael Choice officially made the team as the 4th outfielder. He certainly deserved it and hopefully will be able to continue the success he has had in Spring Training this year. So yeah yesterday was a very busy day and it will continue these next few days as the Rangers get closer to having to finalize their 25 man roster.

4 Prospects Who Could Make an Impact

Now that is all taken care of lets continue our countdown to the season. Today we are going to take a look at 4 prospects who could make an impact on this season. As we have seen in the last few seasons whether it is with injuries or just good play there is always a few players that comes up and impacts the team in a positive way. Last year those players were Martin Perez, Nick Tepesch, Justin Grimm, Engel Beltre, and Jurickson Profar. Who are those players going to be this year? That is what we are going to take a look at today.

The first one is real obvious and that is Michael Choice. He was acquired in the offseason in a trade with the Oakland A’s for Craig Gentry. He was a guy that was brought in to provide outfield depth and to help the offense. The thinking was that he had a higher ceiling than Craig Gentry had. Gentry was just a speed and defense guy. Choice though can hit, has speed, and can play defense. He has shown that this spring. His numbers up to this point are: .361 BA, .672 Slugging, 1.063 OPS,  4 HR’s, and 15 rbi’s. He has been very solid this Spring and I look at him as a guy that will play his role early on in the season, but may get more at-bats as the year goes along and Wash is trying to rest his players. He also could step in as a starter in case anyone gets hurt. I think he will have the most impact on this year’s team.

The second one is Rougned Odor. I still think even though he won’t be on the opening day roster he could be on the team if he gets off to a good start this season. It just feels like the guys they have on the roster to play second and utility infield are just place holders. The Rangers were not wanting to put too much pressure on Odor at the start of the season. If he is hitting well in April then they may look at that come May. Profar will probably not be back till the middle or late June. If Odor does come up then he could stay on the team as utility infielder in much the same role that Profar had last season. Odor spent most of last season in High-A ball with Myrtle Beach, but did get a late season callup to Frisco. That is probably where he will start the season. He may not be starting off the season with the team like Choice is, but he will be on the team at some point this season. The Rangers cannot just rely on guys like Josh Wilson and Adam Rosales to get them through when they have a talent like Odor just waiting there. He will be on the team it is just a matter of when and not if.

The third one was a little bit more difficult to find, but I think it is Nick Martinez. Martinez is opening up the season in the rotation as the number 5 starter, but it is likely for only one start. It does show that the Rangers do have faith in him and that later on this season he could get called back up in case of injury or needing a pitcher for a double-header. Last season saw Martinez spend most of the season in Myrtle Beach, but he also got a late season call-up to Frisco. His combined numbers between the two teams were great. He went a combined 12-7. 2.50 ERA, 151.1 innings pitched, 128/45 K/bb ratio, and had a .212 BAA. He was simply very dominant in his two stops. He certainly has the talent, but the question is if he is ready mentally for the challenge that pitching in a major league game is. That is what the Rangers are wanting to see also. That is why he is opening up the season in the rotation. That is why he is likely their first call-up if they need someone.

The last player is maybe a little bit of a stretch, but I am thinking Luke Jackson could be that guy. I do not think he would come up early on in the season. I think he would be more of a midseason guy. I think the Rangers think so highly of him that they didn’t want to jeopardize his development or start his arbitration clock by starting him on the roster. I imagine him as a guy like Perez was last season. Someone who gets a look around July or August and then pitches so well that they can’t remove him from that spot. I don’t know when, but it just feels like at some point in this season he will be on the team. His numbers last season much like Nick Martinez were great. He pitched most of his season for Myrtle Beach and then received a late season promotion to Frisco. His combined numbers were: 11-4, 2.04 ERA, 128.0 innings pitched, 134/59 K/bb ratio, and a .202 BAA. If he continues to put up numbers like that the Rangers will want to throw him in there and just see if he is ready. I imagine he will start the season with Frisco and then go from there.

Those are the four players though and there could be more and unexpected players who come up and surprise us this season. That is the great thing about baseball is that you never know who is going to finally figure it out and who will make that next step. That is the joy of watching baseball day in and day out. Tomorrow we will continue our series by looking at 3 things that must happen for the Rangers to make it back to the playoffs.

Countdown to Opening Day: 4 days