Texas Rangers: Three Pitching Prospects to Hit the Majors this Season

As a team in full rebuild, the Texas Rangers will have plenty of spots available for young talent, looking to crack the Major League roster.

The Texas Rangers are entering another season marked by a rebuilding club. With not much competitiveness expected, there should be plenty of opportunities for some of the club’s more advanced prospects to get meaningful playing time with the big league club. These players make up all tiers of the Rangers minor league rankings but all can make an impact in what is expected to be a tough 2019 season.

1. Taylor Hearn

Taylor Hearn was acquired by the Rangers this past season as part of a trade deadline deal that sent closer, Keone Kela, to the Pittsburgh Pirates. A hard-throwing lefty, Hearn immediately slotted into the Top 10 Rangers’ prospects according to MLB Prospect Watch upon arrival in the organization.

A local product, Hearn saw his stock grow with an impressive year for the Pirates Double-A affiliate before being traded to Texas. For the Pirates’ affiliate, Altoona, Hearn impressed in 19 starts. Keeping his ERA at just 3.12, Hearn racked up 107 strikeouts in 104 innings of work and held opponents to just a .198 batting average. With a WHIP of 1.09, Hearn did a fantastic job keeping runners off base limiting his ERA.

Once being traded to the Texas Rangers and being placed with Double-A Frisco, Hearn did struggle a bit in his 5 starts throwing just 25 innings in total. His 5.04 ERA was a bit disappointing and he struggled missing bats with opponents hitting .284 against him. His strikeout total remained impressive however sitting down 33 in 25 innings of work.

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At only 24 years old, Hearn still has plenty of room to develop as a pitcher. There are questions raised about his ability to remain a starter despite working exclusively as one in Double-A last season. Hearn does struggle with command and also lacks a true strikeout-quality breaking ball. His explosive fastball paired with a decent changeup make him effective, but limit his ability to work multiple times through the order.

At the end of the 2018 season, Hearn is ranked as the 6th prospect in the Rangers’ organization by MLB Prospect Watch. He likely will start the season in Triple-A to get some more work in before cracking the Major League roster. He is a part of the 40-man roster and likely will get some good work in Spring Training. Depending on whether the Rangers really want to push him as a starter or move him to the late-inning bullpen will decide how quickly he makes it to Arlington.

2. Jonathan Hernandez

While you probably are familiar with Taylor Hearn, you likely haven’t heard much about Jonathan Hernandez. Son of a former big league pitcher, Hernandez has steadily climbed his way through the minors the past couple of seasons. Signed as an international free agent by Texas back in 2013, Hernandez likely will be the highest rated prospect to hit the Majors this season for the Rangers.

MLB Prospect Watch has Hernandez as the 5th ranked prospect in the organization at the close of the 2018 season. He skyrocketed up the Rangers prospect rankings after a dominant year in High-A ball and making it to Double-A Frisco.

Starting 2018 with High-A Down East, Hernandez made 10 starts for the Wood Ducks posting a winning record a 2.20 ERA. Through 57.1 innings Hernandez racked up a stunning 77 strikeouts for Down East holding opponents to a .184 average and sub-1.00 WHIP. Once he was promoted to Frisco, he did struggle a bit which isn’t that much of a shock. He made 12 starts for the RoughRiders and opponents batting average jumped to .247 and his ERA skyrocketed to 4.92. He also struggled a bit keeping his strikeout rate per inning where it was.

Like Hearn, Hernandez has an electric fastball that can sit in the upper-90’s. His breaking ball is above average and he also sports a changeup that could develop into a plus pitch. His ability to have three quality pitches make him a little more likely to stick in a rotation rather than jumping into the bullpen but he has to work on his command as many young pitchers do.

Similar to Hearn, whether the Rangers want to keep Hernandez as a starter will dictate how quickly he makes his appearance in Arlington. He brings more to the table than Hearn but also could benefit from more polishing. I would expect the Rangers to take their time more with Hernandez and if there’s a player on this list to not crack the big league roster, it would be him.