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Jake Latz

Rangers Place Ian Kennedy On 60-Day IL, Select Jake Latz

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Ian Kennedy’s season is over, as the Rangers announced that the veteran right-hander has been placed on the 60-day injured list due to a right rotator cuff strain.  Texas selected the contract of left-hander Jake Latz from Triple-A to take Kennedy’s spot on the active roster.

The injury adds to an altogether rough season for Kennedy, who has spent most of the season at Triple-A while compiling a 7.16 ERA over 16 1/3 innings at the MLB level.  The Rangers signed Kennedy to a minor league deal last winter and he made the roster out of Spring Training, but Texas then designated the 38-year-old for assignment in May.  He had enough service time to opt for free agency rather than accept an outright assignment, but Kennedy then re-signed with the Rangers on a new minors deal a month later.

The Rangers only just selected Kennedy back to the MLB roster on September 5, but this second look in the Show hasn’t gone any smoother.  Kennedy had a 7.20 ERA over 10 innings at the time of his DFA in May, and he has a 7.11 ERA in 6 1/3 innings and five appearances since returning in September.  Friday’s 12-3 Rangers loss to the Guardians saw Kennedy tagged for three earned runs over 1 1/3 innings.

Now in his fifth season as a full-time relief pitcher, Kennedy posted good numbers in 2019 and 2021, but he has a 5.81 ERA over 66 2/3 frames since the start of the 2022 season.  This rotator cuff problem now presents another obstacle to his quest to land another contract this winter, though the severity of his strain isn’t yet known.

Since even a lower-level rotator cuff strain means that Kennedy would miss more than 15 days on the IL, the immediate placement on the 60-day IL allows Texas to open a 40-man roster spot for an immediate bullpen replacement.  This opens the door for Latz to make his first Major League appearance since his debut outing in 2021, when he threw 4 2/3 innings in a spot start when the Rangers were shorthanded by a COVID-19 outbreak.

A fifth-round pick for the Rangers in the 2017 draft, Latz has spent his entire pro career in the Texas organization, apart from a brief stint in independent ball during the canceled 2020 minor league season.  Working as both a starter and a reliever, Latz has a 4.10 ERA over 63 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, with an impressive 32.7% strikeout rate but also an underwhelming 10.9% walk rate.

Rangers Promote A. J. Alexy

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The Rangers announced they’ve recalled right-hander A.J. Alexy to start this evening’s game against the Rockies. It’ll be the 23-year-old’s major league debut. Alexy was already added to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

An eleventh-round pick of the Dodgers out of a Pennsylvania high school in 2016, Alexy spent the first year of his career in the Los Angeles system. The Dodgers included him as part of a three-player package to land Yu Darvish at the 2017 trade deadline. Alexy pitched very well at Low-A the following season, but he missed much of 2019 to injury and obviously couldn’t log any minor league action last year.

Despite missing almost two full seasons, Alexy hasn’t shown much sign of rust this year. He’s split the 2021 campaign between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, pitching to a 1.66 ERA over 65 innings. Along the way, Alexy has struck out a whopping 29.8% of batters faced, although he’s partially offset that by issuing walks at a lofty 10.6% clip.

Alexy has been an inconsistent strike-thrower throughout his career. Both Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs and Baseball America suggest he’s likely to wind up in a bullpen role someday because of those control issues. Nevertheless, both outlets slotted him among the back half of the Rangers’ top 30 prospects thanks to the quality of his arsenal. Each of FanGraphs and BA suggest Alexy has a pair of plus offerings: a mid-high 90s fastball and a sharp 12-6 curveball, in addition to a passable changeup that serves as his third pitch.

The Rangers have almost no certainty in their starting rotation at the moment. Each of Spencer Howard, Dane Dunning and Mike Foltynewicz are on the COVID-19 injured list, forcing Texas to turn to a series of rookies in their place. Alexy becomes the third Rangers starter to make his MLB debut within the past week, joining Jake Latz and Glenn Otto. Amidst a larger-scale retooling effort, Texas figures to give continued chances to younger players over the season’s final five weeks as they look ahead to 2022.

Latz, however, has been returned to Round Rock after one appearance. Because he was selected as a COVID replacement, he needn’t be exposed to waivers to be removed from the 40-man roster. Latz will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter if he’s not re-selected to the big league roster before November.

Rangers Select Hyeon-jong Yang, Ryan Dorow

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The Rangers are selecting the contracts of left-hander Hyeon-jong Yang and infielder Ryan Dorow before this evening’s game against the Indians, according to Levi Weaver of the Athletic (Twitter link). Catcher Jonah Heim is landing on the COVID-19 injured list, joining four other Rangers (Charlie Culberson, Brock Holt, Drew Anderson and Mike Foltynewicz) on the COVID list. It seems Spencer Howard and Dane Dunning could join them, as neither player accompanied the team to Cleveland as part of health and safety protocols. Weaver notes that left-hander Jake Latz is expected to be selected tomorrow as part of the roster maneuvering.

Yang returns for his second stint on the active roster. The KBO veteran signed a minor league deal with Texas over the winter and was selected to make his big league debut in late April. Yang went on to make eight appearances — including four starts — and posted a 5.59 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (15% and 11.8%, respectively) over 29 innings. Texas designated the 33-year-old for assignment and passed him through outright waivers in June. Yang has worked 45 frames with Triple-A Round Rock this season, posting a 5.60 ERA.

Dorow, who just turned 26 over the weekend, was selected by the Rangers in the 30th round of the 2017 draft out of Division III Adrian College in Michigan. That’s not the draft profile of a likely big leaguer, but Dorow has earned a look at the highest level against the odds with solid numbers up through Double-A. The right-handed hitter owns .260/.347/.405 line across 1455 professional plate appearances, including a .333/.394/.600 showing over 99 trips to the plate with Double-A Frisco this season. He’s struggled in his first look with Round Rock, hitting .210/.305/.359, but Dorow has ample experience at each of second base, third base and shortstop in the minors.

Like Dorow, Latz is in line for his first MLB opportunity. A fifth-rounder out of Kent State in that same draft, Latz has spent most of the season in Frisco. The 25-year-old has a 4.69 ERA over 63 1/3 innings, but he’s punched out a very strong 30.9% of batters faced. That’s come with a slightly elevated 10.3% walk rate, but Texas will give Latz a look in the hope he can carry over his strong bat-missing capabilities to the highest level. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted Latz as the #50 prospect in the Texas organization in May, praising the southpaw’s above-average curveball.

Because that trio has been (or will be, in Latz’s case) selected to replace players landing on the COVID-19 IL, they can be removed from the active and 40-man rosters upon players’ returns from the COVID list. It seems they could be on the big league club for the near future, though, since COVID spread within the Texas clubhouse has now dealt a significant hit to their infield and rotation depth charts.

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