Forgotten Rangers reliever becoming bullpen stalwart after early struggles

The Texas Rangers have found their diamond in the rough and it comes in the form of a former first-round pick nearly 15 years ago.

Luke Jackson, 33, was signed five days after pitchers and catchers reported to spring training in February. Now, he's the Rangers' closer with a 3.60 ERA in 10 innings and has converted 7 of 8 saves to begin the season, which is tied for fifth in all of baseball.

Jackson was originally drafted by the Rangers 45th overall out of a high school in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. After spending a few years in the minors, Jackson eventually made his MLB Debut with Texas on September 4, 2015. He never got his footing and was traded in December 2016 to the Atlanta Braves.

Not many expected Jackson to amount to anything with Texas. He came into the year with a career ERA of 4.25 and his 2024 with San Francisco and Atlanta was less than ideal. Fans were even curious why the signing happened, because Texas needed late-inning options and Jackson didn't seem to align with that.

However, President of Baseball Operations Chris Young, once again, displayed his brilliance by signing the right-hander to a one-year deal, buying into the belief that his final 12 games of 2024 were more of his potential, rather than the body of work as a whole.

Fans even let their feelings known about Jackson on Opening Day when he surrendered a three-run home run to Wilyer Abreu in a tie game, which Texas eventually lost 5-2. From there he has been pretty much impenetrable, not giving up a run in his next nine appearances.

Even his first blown save can be marked with an asterisk. Although he did end up walking the tying run during Thursday's game, the runner was given a free opportunity to score due to a misplay by Leody Taveras in centerfield.

It's been an interesting journey for Jackson to kick off the regular season. I don't think he truly envisioned himself coming into the organization and being the closer but he's stepped up in several important moments and has delivered.

Not even sure how because his advanced metrics are more an example of a pitcher that might have 15 earned runs in 10 innings rather than four. He doesn't throw that hard, he doesn't generate swing-and-miss, doesn't get hitters to chase or strikeout. All he does is semi-limit the walk and hard-hit rate and in turn it has generated success.

Hard to tell if it will be translatable throughout the season but right now we have to acknoweldge that what Jackson has been able to do and the moments he's been able to succeed in, is something that is massively needed late for an offense that hasn't scored a lot of runs this season.