Texas Rangers Prospect Countdown: #6 Ariel Jurado

The Texas Rangers signed Ariel Jurado out of Panama as a 16-year-old. Now Jurado is 21-years-old and is close to making his Major League debut. Will we see Jurado in the MLB in 2017?

The Texas Rangers signed Ariel Jurado for $50,000 out of Panama in 2012. Jurado has spent four years in the minor leagues and reached Double-A last season. If Jurado continues his success could Rangers fans expect to him in the big leagues in 2017?

In 2016 Jurado went 8-6 3.66 ERA in 24 games (22 starts) with 106 strikeouts. He spent those 24 games between two leagues. Jurado will likely start the season in Double-A, but moving quickly to Triple-A is possible, and even a call-up to the MLB is not out of the question.

Jurado has three quality pitches that could all develop into viable options. The changeup and fastball are his two best pitches right now. His fastball is around 89-92 mph, but Jurado relies on his command. Right now Jurado has the best command out of all the Rangers prospects and one of the highest ceilings.

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Jurado went 20-2 through his first three minor league seasons and put himself on the Rangers radar. Another strong performance in 2016 got him an invite to Spring Training in 2017. Could an excellent performance in Spring Training mean Jurado could make the Opening Day roster?

No, that seems unlikely, but the Rangers want to see how Jurado looks against Major League talent. If he shows that he can get batters out at the Major League level then we could see Jurado in the MLB in 2017.