SURPRISE, Ariz. — If rotation jobs were given out after a week of in-game competition — which, to be incredibly clear, they are not — then Texas Rangers left-hander Jacob Latz would be in a decent position.
Latz threw two scoreless innings vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks in his Cactus League debut Tuesday at Surprise Stadium. He allowed two hits, didn’t walk anyone and threw 20 of his 26 pitches for strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to five of the eight batters he faced.
Tidy work.
“I thought it went good for a first outing,” Latz said. “Getting ahead was my No. 1 goal, as it is for all of us here in camp, and I felt like I was in count leverage except for one or two of them.”
Rangers
Here are three other observations from a 6-4 loss.
Outfield alignment: The Rangers started Evan Carter in left field and Wyatt Langford in center field vs. the Diamondbacks. That specific alignment has never happened in any of the big league games that the two have played in together (in part due to Carter’s health), but Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said that the plan is for both to rotate between each position this spring.
“You’ve got to see them both play center and left and try to figure out the ways that we can be most successful and stay on the field the longest for both of them,” Schumaker said. “We’re just trying to see what it looks like.”
Carter led the bottom of the first inning off with a triple vs. right-hander Mike Soroka and scored three pitches later when Langford hit a 98.9 mph single in his first Cactus League at bat this year. Langford went 2 for 2 with a pair of hard-hit singles before he was lifted from the game.
Joc Pederson in the field: Pederson, the club’s designated hitter, started at first base. Schumaker praised Pederson as a “sneaky” athlete with good glove work around the bag and said that he’s comfortable with the 33-year-old at the position if starter Jake Burger needs time off of his feet.
How much Pederson will actually play first base remains to be seen. He played just four games at first last year but could see more time there this season dependent on how the Rangers fill out their bench. Midseason signee Rowdy Tellez played the second-most games at first last season (38) while infielders Josh Smith (27) and Ezequiel Duran (25) also saw substantial time there. Tellez remains unsigned, Smith is in line to start at second base and Duran needs to earn one of the available bench spots.
“I think Joc can play first base,” Schumaker said when asked if Pederson is the de facto backup first baseman. “That would probably be the easy answer right now. I also don’t know who’s going to be on the team.”
Banner Baumler day: Right-handed pitcher Carter Baumler, a Rule 5 draftee who’s yet to pitch above Double-A, showed why the Rangers took a flier on his fastball-curveball combo in a perfect third inning. He threw nine pitches — seven for strikes — and struck out a pair of big leaguers.
Baumler got All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte to swing-and-miss at consecutive curveballs low and out of the zone for a strikeout. He got center fielder Alek Thomas to whiff at another curveball before he ran a 95.4 mph fastball past him for a strikeout.
The Rangers have an indeterminate amount of available spots in their bullpen. Several young relievers, like Baumler, will be given a chance to audition. His ability to throw his one-two punch for strikes against big leaguers like he did Tuesday will elevate his stock.
“We’re trying to get him in different pockets and not just Double-A hitters,” Schumaker said. “That’s why we tried to get him in earlier in the game to make sure he’s facing some guys with real names on their back. He punched out two guys, so, not sure he can do better than that.”
Add former All-Star closer Alexis Diaz to slew of arms eyeing a spot in Rangers bullpen
Diaz was quick and efficient in his spring training debut with the Rangers and is one of several interesting relief arms who could potentially crack the roster.
Rangers’ Jack Leiter added another pitch in quest for unpredictability on mound
Leiter, who added an effective kick changeup to his arsenal last year, has experimented with a cutter this spring.
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