Friday Newsletter time: Taylor Hearn appears to be the next man up in Texas Rangers' rotation
The left-hander was a starter in the minor leagues and is going to be stretched out the rest of the season, Chris Woodward said.
The 2021 Texas Rangers season is days away from becoming another full-fledged tryout for next season.
The trade deadline is in a week, July 30 this year, and the Rangers are playing Let’s Make a Deal. The guess here is that right-handers Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy are dealt but right fielder Joey Gallo stays and eventually receives a contract extension.
Others could go, too, especially those on expiring contracts. Infielder Charlie Culberson rakes against lefties, infielder Brock Holt has a winning pedigree, left-hander Joely Rodriguez is better than he has shown, and even Jordan Lyles might pique the right team’s interest.
Will any from that group go? Anything is possible, I suppose.
The Rangers, though, seem to expect they will have openings on the 26-man roster and, more specifically, in the rotation. Taylor Hearn is going to get a chance to fill one of them.
Manager Chris Woodward has said as much a few times recently.
“I think we’re talking about a lot of things, but we definitely want to stretch Taylor out,” Woodward said Thursday. “You never know with the trade deadline what’s going to open up, but, yes, Taylor is definitely on the radar.”
It’s definitely worth trying. He and fellow left-hander John King, who’s working back from shoulder fatigue, can’t be any worse than, say, Mike Foltynewicz and would help keep some prospects in the minor leagues.
Hearn has the stuff to be a starter, which he was in the minors, but is still working on honing in his control. He’s added a sinker, which helps his four-seamer at the top of the zone be more effective, and he has a slider and changeup to keep hitters guessing.
He allowed one run in 2 1/3 innings Thursday in relief of Foltynewicz.
Maybe Hearn goes nowhere in the rotation, and that’s fine. But the Rangers need to find out, and there’s no better time than the present to sort it all out.
“If that door does open I feel like I’d probably be comfortable in that as well,” Hearn said.
The struggle is real
The Rangers are riding a nine-game losing streak that could get significantly longer this weekend in Houston. The good news is Gibson is scheduled to pitch Saturday, and he’s pretty good against the first-place Astros.
The first two losses in the streak came before the All-Star break, so the Rangers might view their current woes as a seven-game skid. OK. Still bad.
And there isn’t a facet that hasn’t been bad. Maybe the bullpen has been OK, two games notwithstanding, but it’s been a struggle all around.
The way Woodward sees it, adversity is part of a young player’s development, and several young Rangers are facing some serious adversity right now. Woodward is watching to see who is taking on the challenge.
“We get to see who people really are,“ Woodward said. “I don’t want to be in this situation. I hate it, but it does reveal the true person to see what kind of character we have and who have we deep down in these guys.”
He saw more of them taking the challenge Thursday. He sees the work. He sees players who want to get better. The key is to not let all the negative things happening change their dedication to their craft.
It’s a tough spot. There will be more of them going forward. The young players might not realize it yet, but they will be better equipped to survive the next time they wade into a stretch like this one.
Card(s) of the week
The two cards of the week this week, a 1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski rookie and a 1964 Topps Mickey Mantle, have a backstory as to how they came into my possession.
Back in the late 1980s, I would set up a couple tables at card shows in the Denver area and sell what I had. I was also working on a 1962 set, but was pretty discouraged because I was missing the Mantle and Willie Mays cards.
A friend took note of my ‘62s and seemed interested in a card-cash trade. So, I decided I would take the Yaz rookie and the ‘64 Mantle plus $400 cash for my ‘62s, which included Roger Maris, Sandy Koufax and Roberto Clemente.
As I work on another ‘62 set, I wish I had that Clemente back. Oh, well.
I gave the Yaz to my dad, who was working on a ‘60 set. It stayed with him until he passed in 2015, and now is back in my collection.
That set, by the way, is one card short — the Mantle All-Star card. I’ve had to upgrade several cards and will have to upgrade some of the big-name cards as my dad bought on the cheap in many cases.
Too many, it turns out. But I took care of a big one more than 30 years ago.
Doggy video!
Have a great weekend. Spend time with your family, even the pains in the butt. Enjoy. See you Monday.
Morning, my buddy in Southlake is very upset with Woody. How much blame for this current hot mess is placed on him?