Texas Rangers Sticking with Ross Detwiler For Now

With the injuries that have decimated the Texas rangers pitching staff thus far in the season, one would expect that there would be a few struggles along the way. This has borne itself out statistically, as the Rangers starting rotation had a 5.09 ERA heading in to last night’s action, ranking 23rd in baseball. It has been a difficult time for the Rangers starters to begin the season.

Perhaps no one has struggled more than Ross Detwiler. Through three starts, Detwiler has a 0-2 record with a 10.95 ERA and a 2.595 WHiP. In just 12.1 innings, he has allowed 25 hits, including five home runs. Detwiler has done more to jumpstart an opposing offense this season than bringing in the fences, switching to one of the lively balls or having Alex Rodriguez share his “vitamin regimen” with a team.

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Yet, despite these struggles, Jeff Banister is planning on staying with Detwiler in the rotation. This sort of sounds like hoping to put out a fire by pouring napalm upon it, but the hope is that there is light at the end of the dark tunnel that Detwiler has been pitching in. See, Detwiler feels that he found a mechanical flaw in his delivery, where his weight is not moving forward towards home as he is pitching. Naturally, this would cause the ball to stay up and get hammered.

Looking back over his past four seasons, it is obvious that there is something wrong. He had averaged a 3.55 ERA from 2011 through 2014 with a strikeout rate just over two to one. A pitcher who generates almost as many ground balls as fly balls over his career, Detwiler has been unable to keep the ball out of the air as his pitches have remained up in the zone.

Perhaps it is something as simple as that mechanical adjustment and having his weight move forward. Given that the Texas Rangers do not have many other options at this point in time, it may be more that Detwiler is remaining in the rotation out of necessity than any confidence that Banister has, but this move could well pay off. At the very least, Detwiler could not get much worse.

It may not make much sense right now, but Ross Detwiler is remaining in the Rangers rotation. Hopefully, this pays off in the near future.

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