Frisco RoughRiders: State Of The Future Rangers

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The Frisco RoughRiders, Double-A affiliate of the , are currently home to future MLB arms. In short, the current state of the future Rangers pitchers is positive. These future Texas Rangers pitchers are finding their way in consistency and control. Though the team sits at 13-18 on the season, the pitching staff has had several impressive starts. Names like Ariel Jurado, Yohander Mendez, and Connor Sadzeck are all ones that could eventually fill out the Rangers starting rotation.

All-in-all, the RoughRiders have some exciting talent. Unfortunately for some of these pitchers, and the team as a whole, they have been victimized by poor run support at times. Some of the pitchers have losses on their records, or no decisions, due to bullpen mistakes. Other times, these guys just have a bad game. Either way, the entire coaching staff at Frisco is handling business well. The future of the Rangers rotation is looking bright. Just hang on for a little while longer…

Yohander Mendez

1 / 3 Mendez comes into the 2017 ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the entire Texas Rangers organization. MLB.com also ranks him as the No. 54 prospect in ALL of baseball. He was at the Major League camp during Spring Training, and even played in a couple of games.

Up to this point in the season, Mendez is 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA. That’s over the course of six starts. In total, he has 36.1 innings under his belt. Which breaks down to just over six innings a start. Don’t take that lightly. Getting six innings out of a starter is essential. Mendez is proving he can handle going deep into ballgames for the RoughRiders. That’s a quality that is desperately needed by the Rangers, to help provide some bullpen relief.

Across his 36.1 innings, Mendez has 32 and 16 walks. There needs to be more Ks here, but he’s working with a 1.10 WHIP. That’s a solid stat.

Mendez has looked well-rounded so far this season. His repertoire of pitches seems to have carried over from the 2016 season. In that year, he registered seven pitches. They included: four-seam fastball (91.9 MPH), two- seam fastball (93 MPH), Splitter (83.8 MPH), Sinker (91.0 MPH), Slider (84.1 MPH), Curveball (78.7 MPH), and changeup (84.9 MPH).

Expect this 22-year-old Venezuelan to continue a solid season. He could have the potential to make a spot- start late in the season. Mendez is already on the 40-man roster, so it wouldn’t be crazy if he did. One more thing. He’s a lefty. A well-built, reliable left-handed is practically gold. Especially for the Texas Rangers.

Connor Sadzeck

Sadzeck ranked as the No. 11 prospect in the Rangers organization, at the onset of the season. He is also on the 40-man roster, and was a part of Major League camp during Spring Training. At 6’ 7” and 240 pounds, Sadzeck has an intimidating stature. It’s definitely something that could make you take a second look.

His last start wasn’t great, by any means. Sadzeck pitched just 5.1 innings and gave up seven earned runs on 12 hits. He’s had just three questionable outings in his seven total starts.

So far on the season, he sits at 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA. He is averaging just under 5.0 innings per game. Take that with a grain of salt, as he was pulled in the first inning of his first start. That, coupled with a 4.0 inning performance in one of his questionable games, hurts this average significantly. Minus those two instances, Sadzeck has gone at least 5.0 innings in every other start. He even has a 6.0 and a 7.2 inning outing on the books. Why is this key? Texas needs starting pitching that can go 6.0 or 7.0 innings. Sadzeck can handle that, with just a little more time.

2 / 3 With his 33.2 innings so far this season, Sadzeck has 41 strikeouts and only 15 walks. He is truly finding a steady rhythm. Keep your eye on this young arm. He is built for the Major League level, and he is putting in the work to get there. His starts are some of the most interesting performances by any other RoughRiders pitcher.

Ariel Jurado

Jurado came into this year as the No. 3 prospect in the entire Rangers organization. He is in a constant battle with Mendez as the best pitching prospect that Texas has. At just 21 years of age, that’s an amazing battle to be in. This Panamanian is young, strong, and capable. Barring any trade or injury-related setback, this is the future No. 1 of the Rangers rotation.

Like the two previous pitchers listed here, Jurado is capable of going the distance. He has just one outing, his first of the year, with less than 5.0 innings. He made it to 6.0 in half of his starts. It’s an impressive milestone for someone his age. Stamina and longevity will come in time.

In a total of 32.2 innings, Jurado has eight strikeouts and 11 walks. He has also given up 43 hits and 19 earned runs. Last year, he combined for a 1.98 groundout-to-flyout ratio, between High Desert and the RoughRiders.

Don’t let these stats turn you off. Developmentally, Jurado appears to be ahead of the game. He seems leaps and bounds past where he should be at his age. If the Rangers are your team, start watching this kid now. When he is the Texas ace, you can say you watched him grow into a phenom.

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