Is Tyler Mahle the surprise ace that Rangers' didn't see coming?

Did anyone see this coming? Yeah, me neither. Well, now that I think about it. Chris Young may have seen it coming when he signed Tyler Mahle two offseasons ago.

Here we are, 18 games into the 2025 regular season and the best pitcher in Major League Baseball in is arguably Mahle. After another stunning six scoreless innings on Tuesday against the Angels, Mahle is 3-0 with a 0.92 ERA in 19 2/3 innings of work.

How the heck has Tyler Mahle been able to find success? Let's take a look.

Not taking anything away from the 30-year-old California native but when you think of the best pitcher in Major League Baseball, Tyler Mahle's name doesn't even appear in the top 30, let alone at the top of the list.

In four games, Mahle has the second-best ERA in the league, 15th best WHIP (0.86) and the best opponent's batting average (.121) among all qualified pitchers. It's something Rangers' fans would have never guessed would be the case after Mahle couldn't even get out of the second inning in his first start of the season.

Mahle doesn't have overpowering stuff, topping out on his fastball at 91.9 mph, which is in the bottom 20 percent of all pitchers this season. His secondary pitches; splitter, cutter and slider sit below the league average for right-handers.

What has made him successful though is the arm extension. He extends his throwing arm further out before releasing the ball and it makes the 92 mph fastball feel two to three mph faster. That has been effective to the tune of a .086 opponent average against the four-seamer and has generated swings and misses to the tune of 41% and 15 strikeouts on the pitch.

It's kind of amazing when you think about it but it's also pretty straightforward. For a long time pitchers have been using their lack of power to be an effective pitcher in the league.

The most recent comparison is long time Chicago Cub now LA Angel Kyle Hendricks who's never blown anyone away with his fastball but has been able to have a successful 12-year, and counting, MLB career with his arm extension and changing speeds of his off-speed pitches.

While we aren't so sure what happened to flip the switch for Mahle. Maybe it was him getting back into the groove of pitching again? Maybe it was the wisdom from pitching coach Mike Maddux? Maybe it was just that he always had this game in him?

Whatever the reason, it is working for him and he's fit perfectly into this elite group of pitching that is one of the major differences in Texas being 11-7 rather than 7-11 to kick off the regular season.