Rangers Roundup: Eovaldi and Leiter shove in Cincinnati
The Rangers are 5-2. That's all that matters.
Welcome to the second edition of the Rangers Roundup!
In case you missed Monday’s Roundup, here’s a brief explanation of what this is all about:
The Rangers Roundup will be your one-stop shop for all things Texas Rangers. After every series — usually on Monday and Thursday mornings — the Roundup will land in your inbox and give you everything you need to know about what’s happening in Arlington. I’m excited to start this up, and I’m even more excited to share it with all of you.
How this all works will be flexible. I’m giving myself the freedom to switch up the format if need be, so if you have any feedback, feel free to send it my way. For now, I’m modeling it somewhat after what the great Jamey Newberg does in his game recaps, which are done in a “Three Up, Three Down” format. The Rangers Roundup is not a copy, but it is certainly inspired. After each series, I’ll give you a number of things I’m pleased with, alongside some aspects that might not be as great. The number of those items is subject to change depending on the circumstances. There will also be some other nuggets thrown into the newsletter as well. Again, all of this is flexible. I’ve been known to change my mind on a whim before.
It was an eventful three days in Rangers World (which is what I’m going to call the team-themed amusement park that I’ll one day pitch to Ray Davis and the rest of the Rangers head honchos), as Texas went to Cincinnati and took two out of three from the Reds. They got there somewhat unorthodoxly, as they were outscored 14-5 over the three-game set, yet still prevailed twice. If you’re wondering how that’s even possible, fear not, because it’s actually quite simple. All a team has to do is lose the first game of the series 14-3 and then win 1-0 in games two and three. Didn’t I tell you? Very simple, indeed!
What matters more: The process or the results? When it comes to sports, the process is always important, but it’s the results that are of more consequence when all is said and done. Who cares how you win? As long as you did win, that’s all that anybody’s asking for.
There are definitely easier ways to win baseball games, but it looks like the Rangers are foregoing those options at the moment and instead opting for a stressful experience that will certainly cause their fans to have heart problems by season’s end. For the collective good of the Metroplex, let’s hope they figure out some more stress-free ways of collecting victories from here on out. Hey, at least they’re not playing like the Atlanta Braves, who are 0-7. I try to always remember that things could be a whole lot worse.
Eovaldi and Leiter Shove
After the Rangers were embarrassed on Monday night by a score of 14-3, it seemed like Cincinnati had the series locked down.
Enter Nathan Eovaldi and Jack Leiter.
Man, did those two just absolutely kill it. Eovaldi’s complete-game shutout on Tuesday night was exactly what the Rangers needed with their bullpen completely in tatters. It became especially important once everybody realized that Texas had decided to not hit the baseball, so every out became even more crucial.
I wrote a more in-depth piece about Eovaldi’s masterpiece yesterday morning, so if you didn’t get a chance to check that out yet, click the link below and relive the magic of one of the best pitching performances I’ve seen in the past five years.
There was no way that Leiter was going to be able to match Eovaldi (unless he managed to throw a no-hitter or perfect game), but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to give it his best shot. Leiter’s last outing against the Boston Red Sox in the second game of the season was by far the best of his young career. Wednesday’s performance topped it by quite a bit. He went five innings, allowing no runs on just one hit with zero walks and six strikeouts. He was efficient as well, utilizing only 70 pitches, 46 of which were strikes. If it wasn’t for a developing blister, Leiter’s outing would’ve definitely been a bit longer, but Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said they didn’t want to aggravate the injury any further and acknowledged that if this were later in the season, Leiter could’ve kept going. (Forty-one of his 70 pitches were breaking balls, which definitely doesn’t help a developing blister. Get this man some pickle juice!)
Nonetheless, the Vanderbilt alum was amazing. His fastball touched 99 MPH, up a tick from his last start, and his slider, curveball, and change-up made Cincinnati batters look silly all afternoon. The slider, in particular, was devastating, as it generated seven whiffs.
What’s been so encouraging about Leiter’s growth, especially when compared to fellow pitching prospect Kumar Rocker, is that the bad habits we saw during his stints with the big-league club last season have dissipated or are completely gone. He went from a two-pitch hurler a year ago to now being able to confidently command five stellar pitches. It would’ve been unheard of 365 days ago for Leiter to throw more sliders than four-seam fastballs, but that’s what he did yesterday against the Reds.
Slow claps (and a standing ovation) for Jack Leiter. He’s done everything the Rangers could’ve asked from him, and then some.
Bullpen? Bullpen!
On Monday’s Rangers Roundup, the bullpen got a lot of love for what it was able to do against the Red Sox in the opening series of the season, and deservedly so. That unit performed a whole lot better than I thought it was capable of, especially against a Red Sox lineup that has a lot of pop. While the bullpen wasn’t utilized nearly as much as it was over this past weekend, it still managed to show us that it’s got some sauce.
Monday night’s game aside, the bullpen was flawless in Cincinnati. The quartet of Jacob Webb, Robert Garcia, Chris Martin, and Luke Jackson shut down the Reds on Wednesday to the tune of four scoreless innings. They allowed just two hits, didn’t walk anybody, and struck out four. They did all that while preserving a slim 1-0 advantage. Hats off to them.
If they can keep this up, that’s an entirely different question. It’s a veteran group with a ton of experience, which can only benefit them down the stretch. I’m more concerned about them getting worn out, especially with the batch of starters that the Rangers will be consistently throwing out there. Two members of the rotation, Tyler Mahle and Jacob deGrom, are on innings limits because of their recovery from Tommy John surgeries in 2023. Leiter and Rocker are young and inexperienced, though, as already mentioned, Leiter has performed well above his pay grade thus far. Regardless, everybody involved has to be encouraged by what the bullpen’s managed to pull off. It’s been mighty impressive.
Plane Spotting
While sitting in the parking lot of my workplace in Irving, I spotted the Rangers’ team plane making its approach into Dallas Love Field from Cincinnati.
That’s some pretty neat stuff. Corey Seager was on that plane!
Oh, Where is the Offense?
Larry couldn’t find his hairbrush. The Rangers can’t seem to find any hits.
Texas was outscored 14-5 against the Reds but still won two games because of Eovaldi and Leiter’s heroics. The lineup collected a measly 12 hits over the course of the three games, with most of the at-bats looking lifeless. It’s not a sustainable way to win ballgames, and the Rangers probably know it.
Of the players who have yet to get going, Marcus Semien is perhaps the most perplexing and troubling. He has just three hits in 28 plate appearances. Most of the contact he is making is weak; his sweet spot percentage is just 5.9%, down from 33% a year ago. Obviously, seven games is an extremely small sample size, but given that he wasn’t great last season either, his poor performance so far is definitely something to monitor. To be clear, I’m not pushing the panic button just yet. I’m not pushing it for anybody on the team, as a matter of fact. It’s just something to keep an eye on over the next couple of weeks.
Other notable Rangers who haven’t gotten it going are Corey Seager (!), Joc Pederson, Jake Burger, and Josh Smith, although Smith did lace an RBI-double against Hunter Greene in Wednesday’s game.
As with Semien, Seager is a hitter that must succeed if Texas is to be a contender in 2025. He’s been dealing with a nagging calf injury, which has coaxed the Rangers into resting him on getaway days. They tell us that it’s nothing to be concerned about, but I’m not so sure. He’s yet to really impact the baseball thus far, which is a rarity. He was doing it in spring training — I saw it with my own two eyes — so I think that something’s up. Of course, that’s just speculation on my part. I firmly believe that Seager will be just fine. He’s just yet to get his sea legs underneath him, which is a trend across the entire lineup with the exception of a small few.
Getting Rocked
What’s the deal with Kumar Rocker? I don’t know.
He was one of the best pitching prospects I’d ever seen last season, which catapulted him up to a late-season appearance with the Rangers in September. Rocker was fine in those outings and showed a lot of the potential he’d exhibited down in the minors. There were clearly some kinks to iron out, but everybody saw the vision.
Then, spring training started. From the jump, something wasn’t right. A lot of his old habits had seemingly come back, and hitters were taking advantage. He ended his spring with a 9.00 ERA over 13 innings pitched, striking out 20 and walking nine. While he progressively got better in his last couple of appearances before Opening Day, there were still some questions about whether he’d make the team out of camp.
Luckily for him, the injuries to Cody Bradford and Jon Gray opened up spots in the rotation, which is where he was slotted to begin the season. He was awarded the start on Monday evening and looked to give the Rangers their fourth win in a row. Instead, he allowed six runs and was chased after just three innings of laborious work.
Pitch after pitch found its way to the middle of the zone, which Cincinnati consistently pounded. Of the first 11 batters he faced, eight of them hit balls with exit velocities of 96 MPH or greater. Not fantastic.
If I were to find a silver lining, it’s that his third inning was clean. He ended his night with a strikeout, a positive note after such a disastrous introduction to the 2025 season.
Rocker will make at least one more start for the Rangers before potentially being sent down once Patrick Corbin is ready to come up from Triple-A on April 11. Texas certainly would like to see Rocker perform at a high level, but it’s more important to get him right than to continue throwing him to the wolves while he’s not ready.
Back Injuries Suck
Evan Carter hasn’t looked like himself in quite some time.
The 22-year-old from Tennessee suffered a back injury last season that limited his campaign to just 45 games. He looked off during that span, slashing just .188/.272/.361 (.633 OPS). Compare that with the electric start he had in 2023, when he appeared in the final 23 games of the regular season and slashed .306/.413/.645 (1.058 OPS), helping propel the Rangers into the postseason.
Now, he’s struggling in Triple-A. Spring training did not go well for Carter, prompting the Rangers to send him down to Round Rock to start the year with the hope that he’d figure it out in a less pressure-filled environment. So far, however, it’s not paying off. In four games with the Express, Carter is hitting .059 and has struck out seven times. Frankly, he looks miserable.
Whether the struggles are due to his back problems or just a general lack of confidence is not for me to say. All I know is that Carter is someone the Rangers want on the big-league roster. At his best, Carter is a much better option in center field than Leody Taveras. Right now, though, Carter’s best served in Triple-A, where he can hopefully start to get his swagger back.
I really hope it happens for him because he’s such a good guy. There’s nothing I want more (other than another World Series) than for Carter to find success in 2025.
In the meantime, let’s just relish in the good old days when Carter was an integral reason why the Rangers won their first World Series in franchise history.
Up Next
The Rangers return home to Arlington (via the Boeing 757 that I saw yesterday) to face the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game set.
Here are the pitching probables for the series:
Friday - (TEX) Tyler Mahle (0-0, 5.40 ERA) vs. (TB) Zack Littell (0-1, 1.50 ERA)
Saturday - (TEX) Jacob deGrom (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. (TB) Taj Bradley (1-0, 3.00 ERA)
Sunday - (TEX) Kumar Rocker (0-1, 18.00 ERA) vs. (TB) Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Even after having to play home games outside for the first time since 2008, the Rays have looked good and are 4-2 on the year. Now, they’ve played against the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, two teams that will be vying for the worst record in baseball at season’s end, so how much stock you can take in the Rays’ early success is up in the air.
Either way, the Rays have a lot of arms that can provide a formidable challenge to this Rangers offense. So, if you’re hoping for a nice and easy bounce-back for the lineup, this might not be the series where that happens.