Texas Rangers: 4 pitchers who would improve the bullpen

The Texas Rangers bullpen has been a mess for most of this season. Blown saves, walks, and poor outings among nearly everyone in that bullpen. For most of May, fans have been begging the front office to trade for a bullpen arm to lock things down in the middle to late innings. It has been hard to watch such a good team lose so many games late. The truth is that trades may not materialize until after the All-Star break which is still over six weeks away. The Rangers' answer to their bullpen issues will have to come from within. Several players in the minor leagues currently have the stuff and mentality to pitch in the bullpen. I want to present four players that I believe should be given an opportunity to pitch in the pen before the trade deadline season.

Texas Rangers Minor Leaguer Marc Church

Marc Church got into plenty of action this spring in "A" games and not just on the backfields. He was surprisingly one of the last cuts. The coaching staff utilized him in the late innings in spring. Bochy and his staff know of Church and how effective he can be. He was sent to Frisco to start the season. He had a dominant April, but has struggled some in May. If you look into his numbers he is the exact guy Texas could use right now. Church has made eight appearances in the eighth and ninth innings this season. In those innings, he has only allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings pitched and has 12 strikeouts to three walks.

He has made four appearances in late and close game situations. In those 6 2/3 innings he has 14 strikeouts to one walk and is allowing hitters a .130 batting average. He is not afraid of the moment and actually pitches better in those situations.

This is video of him making an appearance back on May 19th. He was facing Jordan Lawler one of the top prospects in all of baseball.

On Tuesday it was announced that he was being promoted to Triple-A Round Rock. I will be watching his appearances over the next couple of weeks. The Rangers are home for much of June. If he performs well for Round Rock I would not be surprised to see him get a shot in the bullpen at some point in June or July.