The Texas Rangers need to add these Rule 5 eligible prospects

LHP Cole Ragans

This lefty was one of the Texas Rangers’ 2021 Futures Game representatives

The Texas Rangers drafted Ragans in the first round of the 2016 draft, but has missed three seasons (2018-2020) recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The 23-year old left-hander is having a nice rebound season in 2021, splitting time between Hickory and Frisco.

In 13 games (12 starts) this season, he is pitching to the tune of a 3.71 ERA over 53.1 innings. He has struck out 64 so far this season, and currently has a 1.22 WHIP.

That was good enough to get a spot on the All Star Future’s roster this season, as well.

He has top-of-the-rotation talent, and I believe the Rangers shouldn’t hesitate to add him to the 40-man roster.

The other option is risking him getting taken, and hoping teams view him like they did Alex Speas last offseason, injury prone and has control issues.

LHP Jake Latz

Arguably, Latz has the most compelling case to be added to the 40-man roster out of all the Rangers’ prospects.

Rumor has it that Latz has recently been promoted to Round Rock after a solid showing at Frisco this season.

Over 15 games this season, Latz has gone 1-1 with a 4.69 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP.

Although those are not eye-popping numbers, he has a career 3.50 MiLB ERA with a 1.18 WHIP, including 230 strikeouts.

His best season was in 2019, splitting time between Hickory and Down East, sporting a 1.62 ERA over 13 games started and dominating the lower levels of the minor leagues.

If he has been promoted to Round Rock, I firmly believe he could not only get added to 40-man this offseason, but could see time in Arlington this season.

RHP Ronny Henriquez

RHP Ronny Henriquez

Henriquez isn’t the biggest guy in the Texas Rangers’ system, standing at 5’10 and 155 lbs, but has some of the best raw stuff in the system.

More from Nolan Writin'

• Framework for a potential Max Fried trade to the Texas Rangers
• Early 2023 MLB mock draft has Texas Rangers selecting an Ohtani-lite
• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Where do Texas Rangers prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker stand after the DeGrom signing?

Before being promoted to Frisco this season, he held opposing hitters to a .153 BAA. Now in Double-A, he is 3-2 with a 4.95 ERA.

He’s a must for me because even though he is small, he pitches like Randy Johnson, much bigger than he is.

He’s got a good fastball, harder than most, and a tight slider to pair with it, but sometimes they end up catching to much of the plate.

He’s definitely a lock, and could be a staple in the Texas rotation around 2023.

RHP’s Cole Uvila and Nick Snyder

The Rangers have a surplus of hard-throwing right-handed relievers in their system, but Uvila and  Snyder are definitely big league impact arms.

Uvila, as we documented before, is a spin-rate monster, and has the nastiest breaking ball across the Rangers’ minor league system.

He was recently promoted to Round Rock after posting a 3.27 ERA in 2021, with a career MiLB ERA of 2.30.

Don’t be surprised if we see him in Arlington within the next few weeks.

Snyder, on the other hand, has flown under the radar for the most part, but possesses a triple-digit fastball and hard slider. Definitely has big league closer written all over him.

He has been outstanding this season, pitching to a 1.82 ERA over 24 games this season, making some of the game’s best products look foolish.

These are two relievers to have on your radar at the end of this season, and during the roster crunch decision.

Other Rule 5 Eligible Pitchers to Consider: RHP Huever Bueno, RHP Alex Speas, RHP Glen Otto, RHP Tai Tiedemann, RHP Ricky Vanasco