Texas Rangers: Derek Holland return has been a success

The Texas Rangers will send Derek Holland to the mound for the last time today.  No one really knew how we’ll he would pitch or if he would even pitch at all this season after injuring his knee.

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But, after a pretty lengthy rehab and several starts in the minors Holland has had a lot of success in his short season.  It’s very reassuring for him, the Texas Rangers and fans in general that he was able to bounce back after the injury.

Holland was hoping to return before the All-star break, but that didn’t happen.  It wasn’t because he wasn’t able to pitch in the major.  The Texas Rangers were mainly worried about the strength in his knee and his ability to field and play defense.

If the Rangers record was better around the All-star break and the injury bug wasn’t so bad then things might have been different.  But, at that point there wasn’t any reason to bring him back early. Once Derek Holland did return he seemed to be back to 100% with his pitching and his fielding.

Having Derek Holland pick up where he left of in 2013 is a huge for the Rangers.  They’ll already need to fill a few holes in the pitching staff, but they should be able to rely on him as their number 2 starter.   For the season Holland has a record of 2-0 with a 1.31 ERA over 5 starts.  Over his first 5 starts he has pitched 6.0 or more innings and allowed 2 or less earned runs.  He’s the 5th pitcher in Texas Rangers history to begin his season that well.  He’s also the second Ranger to have 5 straight quality starts and is one short of a career.