It's generally not going to be a good policy to contradict the coaching staff. And frankly, in this instance, if that's what happened behind the scenes and now he's doing well, then it's pretty evident that he was causing a problem.

Proposition Joe said:

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Mr Gigem said:

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That's what was written. Hopefully part of it was the Rangers telling Dad to back the **** off.

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If I'm the Dad of a premier young arm and he's drafted into the Rangers organization, in no way do I just "trust" what they are advising.

Tampa? Sure.

Texas? Hell no.

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A little historical context for the purposes of this discussion.

Leading up to the draft, there was a lot of talk that Leiter wouldn't sign if drafted, because (if memory serves) he wanted to play for the Yankees or Red Sox. The Rangers had to go through a significant vetting process with the Leiter family before they gave the thumbs up and said effectively "Ok, if you draft Jack he'll sign".

Apparently the Rangers organization, probably CY specifically, was convincing enough with their plan for Jack that they were comfortable with it.

What has happened since, from the scuttlebutt I've heard, is that Al Leiter has acted as some sort of behind the scenes pitching coach, backseating driving and undermining the development plan & coaching they agreed to prior to the draft and again prior to Jack signing.

I don't give a flying sh*t who you are, as a parent in this situation you need to stay the hell out of it. It's not your role, and it's not your responsibility. Jack Leiter is a grown a$$ man and Al needs to quit being a helicopter dad.

* disclaimer to all this being it was written with the assumption that the rumors about Al interfering are true *

beagle2009 said:

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Proposition Joe said:

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Quincey P. Morris said:

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It's generally not going to be a good policy to contradict the coaching staff. And frankly, in this instance, if that's what happened behind the scenes and now he's doing well, then it's pretty evident that he was causing a problem.

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I agree with you, I'm simply stating that the Texas Rangers history of developing young arms is historically the bottom of the league. It's not shocking that a stud young arm with a damn good 20 year career in the big leagues is going to have a lot of input on what he should be doing.

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This is a bad take. There are plenty examples of pitchers that the Rangers have developed in recent history. Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, CJ Wilson to name a few off the top of my head.

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I think you have the bad take. No offense to those guys, but if those are the pitchers we are touting as successful developments by the Rangers system... that says a lot. I'll give you CJ Wilson. He is by far the best one you named. But Harrison should not even be on that list. He did the majority of his development with the Braves.

The other two had some decent years but overall, were average starters at best. Between Holland and Lewis, they had a combined 4 seasons of starting 20 or more games and posting an ERA less than 4.00. The two had a combined career WAR of just 18. For perspective, CJ Wilson had a career WAR of 17.3 on his own. A career top of the line pitcher like Justin Verlander has a career WAR of 78 on his own. Neither Holland or Lewis were bad pitchers, but that fact that they're even in the discussion as the best development jobs by the Rangers is sad.

On top of all of that, all of those guys debuted 14+ years ago.

Every team and their dog will be going after those guys. Going to cost A LOT

Per EG

Quote:

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From Evan Grant:

And before he left town, Acuña, who you could argue is the best player in baseball at the moment, dropped one other bombshell of the auditory variety that ought to be of special note to Rangers fans.

"My brother," he said through an interpreter of Rangers prospect Luisangel Acuña, "is more advanced and better than I was at his age. Maybe I was as talented, but not as advanced."

Which is good copy, for sure. Perhaps also a little hyperbole. Or brotherly pride. Maybe both. The Rangers' reaction is basically: Pray Big Brother is right, but also that it might be a little unfair to compare any prospect to one of, if not the best player in the game. It is also a nice little temporary distraction because our other option for a missive was: "What's up with the bleeping bullpen, Take 9?"

So, about Luisangel, who is at Double-A Frisco: He is 21, four years younger than Ronald, and the youngest player on the Rangers' 40-man roster. It speaks to his precocious talent, but also to where his brother might be employing a hint of hyperbole. At 21, Ronald was already the NL Rookie of the Year and on his way to his first All-Star Game.

"It's hard not to dream about [his brother], but I don't think it's fair to make those comparisons," Rangers general manager Chris Young said. "We'd love for him to turn into that, but they are different people and different players. We're excited about the player."


Truth is the comps to Ronald are fewer now than could have been the case. Luisangel was going to follow in his brother's footsteps, having agreed to a deal with Atlanta in 2018 before the Braves' penalties for international scouting and signing violations were announced. It made Luisangel a free agent again. The Rangers swept in.

Luisangel, a shortstop and the No. 3 ranked Rangers' prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is tearing up the Texas League. And dare we say it: For now, he's outperforming top prospect Evan Carter with an .837 to .815 OPS. Carter has been in a bit of a slump of late. Acuña is fourth in the Texas League in hitting (.318) and second in stolen bases (16). He has not been caught stealing.

It comes on the heels of a late-season promotion from advanced Class A Hickory last year. He struggled over the final month as a 20-year-old but has come back with a vengeance. He's also upped his play at shortstop, perhaps quelling any thoughts that, like his brother, he might function best as an outfielder.


Though the two spend considerable time together during the offseason, Ronald doesn't say much about what he's told his younger brother, only that he's encouraged him to keep "doing what he's been doing," and that "it's been a joy to watch him develop."

The Rangers can agree with the latter point.

"He is more comfortable and confident," said minor league field coordinator Kenny Holmberg. "It's led to high-caliber shortstop play. Like Ezequiel Durn, he's a baseball player and can do whatever is asked of him.

"And he does it with passion. You can see that in the way he plays. That's what you look for. I wasn't sold [on the shortstop play], but he's made me a believer. He's been impressive."

All of which brings us back to the topic of the day: the bullpen. Everybody in the organization from scouts to ownership recognizes that the bullpen is the big league team's biggest flaw. It is a need that must be addressed. It may require more than one piece to fix.

That's code for the Rangers are going to have to offer something in a trade. With Corey Seager settled at short for most of the next decade, the position is seemingly one from which the Rangers could peel off some talent to help other areas of the team. With their performances this year, all Durn and Acuña have done is increase their value. Whether that's to the Rangers or in trade capital remains to be determined.

But it certainly can't hurt his value to have one of the best players in the game provide a titillating tease about his talent. Even if that player is his older brother

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Good news on deGrom. Says he feels good after his 25 pitch session.

City connect jerseys with military appreciation hats are an abomination. What are we doing.