Summary for the kids:

Tinoco (28.299d) - 9 PC

Leiter (23.308d) - 3 PC
Kelly (24.080d) - 11 PC
Church (22.330d) - 6 PC
Kent (25.364d) - 9 PC

Relatively light 1st Day. Enough to get the excitement going and pitch to non-Rangers players.

Good to see some kids get some confidence.

Tinoco is the only one above that has MLB experience. 66.2 IP, none since 2022.
Leiter is not on the 40.
Kelly, Church, and Kent are on the 40

Kent & Leiter are projected SPs.
Kelly & Church are projected RPs.

Good lord. I guess we're going to get more wonderful ideas like this from new fans.

So, the Radio broadcast during the game wasn't broadcast. It was broadcasted starting at 8pm, so you can still catch it if interested.

Take my PCs with a grain of salt. The outcome was published but not the Bs & Ss. It would appear all Ws were 4P Walks. A K was a 3Strike swinging.

Sad revelation to hear.

I wasn't going to call you on it…but I listened live and read your recap later thinking "huh, I must not have been paying very close attention, especially to Leiter's inning"

For those interested, here is the Jack Leiter sequence:

A little Jack Leiter action. Three flyouts. Mid-90s. All three balls hit pretty well. pic.twitter.com/OmUmBtwqoH

— Stefan Stevenson (@StefanVersusTex) February 23, 2024

Where did you listen live? I tuned in to 105.3 where it was supposed to be an they were basically discussing it as a matter of interest.

Last night I actually got the Rangers broadcast, albeit replay.

I tried the Royals' broadcast and it was blackout'ed.

I don't love this. He continues to miss up SO often.

I don't know if it works in the metroplex, but I listen on MLB.com. I think (and emphasize 'think') that the radio feed isn't blacked out.

Today 105.3 should have it live. Yesterday the team's website had the link to listen live, so that's where I'd look on days 105.3 isn't carrying it live

Rangers lineup for February 24, 2024 at Kansas City. A live radio broadcast of today's game will be carried on 105.3 The Fan in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. pic.twitter.com/fHySrful0C

— Texas Rangers PR (@TXRangersPR) February 24, 2024

Here's the broadcast schedule, looks like all the weekday games will be on mlb.com. It worked great for me in CS, and I know of at least one person I sent the link to that it worked for in DFW

I'm not an expert, but thought I'd add some comments about the lineup today:

1 Travis Jankowski (L) CF <- *4th OF (32 yo)
2 Jared Walsh (L) 1B <- NRI (30 yo)
3 Ezequiel Duran (R) SS <- *UIF (24)
4 Andrew Knizner (R) C <- *BU C (29)
5 Justin Foscue (R) DH <- *(24)
6 Derek Hill (R) RF <- NRI (28)
7 Dustin Harris (L) LF <- *(24)
8 Davis Wendzel (R) 3B <- NRI (26)
9 Jonathan Ornelas (R) 2B <- *(23)

* = On 40
6 players on 40, with the 3 bolded being NRI.

Jankowski, Duran, Knizner are locks for the Active Roster.
Foscue, Harris, and Ornelas will likely be given plenty of chances to prove themselves.

The 3 NRI are worth a watch. DH is still open and someone from today's lineup might claim it in ST.

Walsh will be interesting. 364 G in the LAAA org, career .240 was an AS in '21 (29HRs) and 7th in ROY in '20. Struggled last year with what he described as neurological issues.

https://apnews.com/article/texas-rangers-walsh-duffy-5398f5602c1088a4ce5b7f431b5e75bb

Quote:

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" The left-handed hitter played only 39 games with Los Angeles last year after starting the season on the injured list because of debilitating symptoms that led to headaches and insomnia. "

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I think he was brought in to put pressure on Lowe and offer a backup, he could become the DH.

Hill was signed in Dec and is likely an insurance policy for the OF. Once Jankowski was signed, I think Hill was relegated to AAA. His NRI gives the club a chance to see him. Ultimately, I think he doesn't make the club and will have to decide if there are opportunities elsewhere or worth stick with Texas in the minors.

Wendzel - Rangers 41st pick (CBA) in '19 out of Baylor. Co-BXII POTY with Josh Jung. Hopefully we'll see him later this season. His time is right around the corner.

Not an encouraging outing for Owen White today.

JMO, but I think Wendzel is going to wind up being a bust.

I'm very interested in him. He's got the raw physical tools to be a very successful MLB DH, he sure does swing and miss a ton.

He'll be 27 in May, and in 4 minor league seasons he's a career .227 hitter. I just don't see how that projects as a solid prospect.

Agreed on that. The homers and slug are there, but he's missing the other stuff.

I have a low bar. I hope he feels fine tomorrow and ready for another outing.

That's a W for me.

rbtexan said:

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He'll be 27 in May, and in 4 minor league seasons he's a career .227 hitter. I just don't see how that projects as a solid prospect.

---

I get the age thing, but he was injured in '19 and then '20 was Covid where they didn't really play.

What is weird and I haven't dug deep enough, but one report showed he graduated HS in '16... the other in '17. Some kids do the IMG thing for an extra year before college.

His 2017 season at Baylor (Freshman) indicates he was 20. Did he graduate HS in '17 at age 20?

I was 6'2"/185 as a Sr in HS at age 17. After 1 yr of college, I was 6'4"/215 which should have been my Sr year.

I think he'll be a serviceable journeyman whom teams see enough to keep him around, but never really establishes himself.

Bellinger to cubs 3/80 with opt outs each year. I can see Monty doing something similar so he can try for the long term deal next year again.

Bellinger is 28.227d and with a 3yr deal he has some safety and an out each year. He was predicted to get 12/$264M ($22M/yr) by MLBTR. I think that was a Boras provided number. The 3/$80M ($26.7M) gives him more per yr. So, if he gets an 9yr/$184M ($20.4M) after this one, he'll break even.

Personally, I think the Cubs overpaid and won't get their money's worth... and I don't think Bellinger will get that $184M. He likely gets some. But, he could also go the way of Prince Fielder, Pujols, Rendon, among others.

Aaron Judge is the one to watch, IMO.

I still think Boras is trying to get Snell and Monty 6 yr deals.

I think teams that are still in contact are waiting to see how their ST options go. I could see the Yankees get into a panic and blink.

Here is a good reference to see who has what projected:
https://www.mlb.com/news/projected-lineups-rotations-for-every-2024-mlb-team

I think Boston and NYY are viable destinations. Boston needs to add a guy at the top which will push the others down and overall improve the depth. NYY are one "sore elbow" away from panic, IMO. They traded a bunch of options for Soto and have a bunch (4) rehabs after Cole.
The O's lost Bradish. They have a need.

I don't see an AL Central team spending $25M+

Mariners have a solid rotation and Houston's is good top-to-bottom.

Texas seems the likely spot for a "deal." However, I think like many... the heart says YES but the logic and brain say, maybe not. Eovaldi, Dunning, Gray, and Heaney are all formidable SPs in order of my confidence. I think Dunning showed what he can do in the 1H. He apparently is working on a Splitter that he has worked with Eovaldi to develop. It is a WIP. But, I'm like, Ok... if Eovaldi is working with Dunning, that can only be good.

Gray showed some of what to expect WHEN healthy. Heaney may be an innings guy, but you're going to need guys like that.

So, Monty ($26M/yr) or Bradford ($750K per for next 3 years)?! And if not Bradford.. White, Winn, Leiter, Duffy, others that we can shuffle in.

If we sign Monty, we likely should trade Heaney ($13M) and keep Bradford as the #5. The $13M could offset some of Monty's money. But, that doesn't account for Scherzer, deGrom, and Mahle all returning. Then what?

With the Dodgers and Braves, I can't see any NL team spending on Monty. Padres and Mets are options but both just tore down their teams. Giants are the only other possibility.

I think the Red Sox are the likely destination.

One of you stat guys... can you help me?

One of the things I've been trying to look at is which Rangers SP suffered the most from the BP's lack of success.

Which SP left the most guys on base when they came out who ended up scoring.

We know if the BP converted league average on Saves, the Rangers would have had what... 9 more Ws?! I'm trying to consider which Rangers SP in 2024 might benefit the most with the improved BP.

I think the Montgomery ship has sailed. Boras is probably asking for the moon, and the Rangers aren't budging.

I don't blame them for taking that position, they're budget heavy as it is. If I were to find fault in them this off-season, it would be that they didn't bundle some prospects to trade for a SP who has some control. There's a lot of players we could afford to let go who aren't Langford, Carter, Porter, or Walcott. Foscue, Wendzel, Ornelas, Cauley, Crim, Harris, Zavala - I'd be willing to part with any of those in a bundle. We even have some pitching we could toss in and not gut the system. Kent, Winn, Acker, maybe even Bratt (although that one would sting a bit).

Realistically, we have a lot of depth in the minors in players who probably don't have a path forward with the Rangers, at least not in the next few seasons. I'm always going to prioritize pitching, I don't think you can ever have enough of that. JMO

Rangers are in such weird spot. IF (big IF) everyone comes back healthy they have plenty of depth in the 2H. They are razor thin for 3-4 months. You will need someone in that stretch. Right now it's Duffy? I want that next man up to be Bradford, but I get what game they are playing.

I hope they know something I don't about Winn/White/Leiter, but I'm very skeptical.

Giants at 2:05, today:

Heaney on the bump
[ol]

Marcus Semien (R) 2B

Evan Carter (L) RF

Wyatt Langford (R) LF

Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B

Jonah Heim (S) DH

Leody Taveras (S) CF

Matt Duffy (R) SS

Josh Smith (L) 3B

Andrew Knapp (S) C

[/ol]
Langford - Taveras - Carter
Smith - Duffy - Semien - Lowe
Knapp (C)
Heim (DH)

Hopefully the message with Adolis is that he is fine coming along and letting the kids do their thing. Having him settled for 2025 takes off the pressure of feeling like you are playing for a contract at the end of the season so you can go out and have fun.

I agree with much of what you posted.

In fairness, like Ragans, I was ok giving up Carter last year. Let's see where Ragans is in '24.

Let's revisit your player list at the Trade Deadline when we are looking to shore up the BP.

And... I agree with your categorization of players.

I actually think we'll be well positioned at the Trade Deadline to be buyers where we want... and strategic sellers to stock the farm.

BTW, Cam Leiter is at FSU. Cousin to Mark Jr and Jack. Could be a draft prospect. Too early to look at the draft?

Of the group I mentioned, I like Cauley and Bratt the most. I think Cauley is going to be a good player, I just don't see where he fits on the Rangers being a SS. A lot can change though, and he's really young. Bratt isn't likely to be a superstar type pitcher, but he could be a solid #4 if he continues to develop. He's put up really good numbers so far, we'll see what happens with him this season.