This Rangers pitcher could have a Jacob Latz-like breakout in 2027

It's fair to say that the meteoric rise of swingman-turned-dominant closer Jacob Latz doesn't happen every year — or even every five years. What Latz did — becoming a lockdown, All-Star over the span of a month or two — is something that most Texas Rangers fans have never seen. The hard-throwing lefty put on a hell of a show in 2026 with a 2.13 ERA and 30 saves.

There are other pitchers in the bullpen, however, who can become much better and pitch their way into a much larger role in a way that is similar to Latz. Chase Silseth, the trade deadline acquisition from the LA Angels, has the stuff to become the everyday setup man, and it appears that Skip Schumaker will give him every opportunity to claim that role. Silseth will be in pre-arbitration in 2027, but all indications are that he will be retained.

New Rangers reliever Chase Silseth is in a position to become a much bigger contributor for the Rangers in 2027

Silseth has already spent a large part of his five-year career pitching in leverage situations late in games. The Rangers traded for him to be a 7th-or 8th-inning reliever with the hope that he could evolve into something more.

The 26-year-old from Farmington, New Mexico, has electric stuff and averages better than a strikeout per inning, spanning 160 innings over his career. Last season with the Angels and Rangers, he notched an 11.9 K/9 rate.

He possesses an elite four-seam fastball that he can run up to 97 mph, to go with a plus splitter that drops just below the hitter's knees as it crosses the plate. He can also mix in an effective slider about 20% of the time. It all adds up to a 4.28 ERA for his career. He sometimes suffers spells of poor command, walking a batter every two innings, so he will have to improve his control.

Most importantly, Silseth is young, and Schumaker will give him the ball late in games. So far, Silseth hasn't done anything to show he can't be Latz's lead-in should the club not re-sign free agent Jakob Junis this winter.

Again, we are not predicting that Silseth will suddenly morph into Mariano Rivera and become an unhittable force, but he has the stuff and will be given the opportunity to step up into a more prominent role coming out of the bullpen next season.

He will be in competition for more innings with a few other relievers returning, including southpaws Robert Garcia, Adam Macko, and Robby Ahlstrom, along with righties Peyton Gray, Cole Winn, and Gavin Collyer. Junis, Jordan Montgomery, and Tyler Alexander are all free agents, so they could also be in the mix.

Silseth feels like an unfinished product who is getting by on pure arm talent. Should he continue to improve things like his command and the mental aspect of the game, he could have a Latz-like leap in 2027.

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