Wednesday, September 10

ARLINGTON -- Jacob Latz walked off the mound in the middle of the sixth inning on Monday night to a loud ovation from the relatively light crowd of 20,791 fans at Globe Life Field. 

Latz had thrown 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Brewers, the team with the best record in baseball. The Rangers eventually rolled to a 5-0 win over Milwaukee. 

“It was really nice, just really appreciative of the crowd showing the love,” Latz said postgame. “I felt like the energy in the stadium was good. … I’ve just been sticking to what's been working. I've had a good feel of all four of my pitches lately. It’s one pitch at a time, you know. [Pitching coach] Mike [Maddux] has gotta remind me of that sometimes. That was really all I was thinking about.”

The theme of late has been that of unlikely heroes such as Michael Helman, Cody Freeman, Alejandro Osuna and Dustin Harris filling in the rolls of injured position players like Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Evan Carter and Adolis García.

But when ace Nathan Eovaldi also landed himself on the injured list, the Rangers needed yet another guy to step up. Latz has been that guy. In six spot starts this year, the lefty has gone three-plus innings and allowed two or fewer runs in all of them. 

“He's young in his career,” said manager Bruce Bochy. “We've used him in the bullpen. He's done a great job starting, yet he's so valuable because he gives you that option. We’ve got him stretched out to the point where he could do what he did today. I just love the way he's attacking the strike zone. The one thing with him is that he would occasionally lose his command a little bit. [Now], he's not doing that at all.”

Latz has become a valuable swingman for the Rangers this season, one in which every member of the rotation except Patrick Corbin and Jacob deGrom have spent some time on the injured list. 

2025:

• Latz as a starter: 2.73 ERA in 29 2/3 innings (six games)

• Latz as a reliever: 3.02 ERA in 44 2/3 innings (23 games)

Latz, a fifth-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, came up in the Rangers’ farm system as a starter until 2023, when the player development staff transitioned him to a reliever due to a number of injuries that limited his effectiveness deeper into games.

He’s worked mainly as a reliever since his MLB debut, but has also transitioned seamlessly back into a starter role whenever the Rangers have needed him to. 

"It's just a reminder that it doesn't matter when you're pitching or what role you're in,” Latz said. “It's just going out there and executing the pitch. Being in the bullpen -- I've said it a few times -- has helped me just take each pitch and each batter the same, not thinking too far ahead.

“I think that's what's helped me a lot throughout this. You just take it one pitch, one inning at a time, and then you look up and you're in five, six innings. It doesn't overwhelm you like it used to.”

Considering the body of work at this point, it’s fair to say that Latz should get further consideration in the rotation. 

Merrill Kelly, Jon Gray and Tyler Mahle are all impending free agents, leaving a rotation of Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker. You can never have too much starting pitching -- and Latz is clearly valuable in his swingman role -- but it’s definitely worth thinking about by the time October ends. 

“There’s going to be, obviously, discussions when the season's over,” Bochy said. “Look at what he's doing. I've said all along, I think he's got the equipment to be a starter. He's got four pitches, good stuff, really good stuff. That's to be decided. I think you look at what he's doing, certainly he gives you the option of having him available to start.”

Latz isn’t thinking too much about that right now, though. 

“Deep down, I've always wanted to be that person,” Latz said. “It just feels good to contribute to wins, and to do it in that fashion is a little added boost for me personally. Just answering the call, whatever has been asked, for me, that's all you can do. Whatever direction they go is fine, as long as we keep winning and keep pushing for the playoffs here.”

• Adolis García (Grade 2 right quad strain): Took live batting practice pregame on Tuesday, eight days after exiting due to injury. Bochy said he’s doing much better than expected and could be activated as soon as Friday when the Rangers travel to New York to face the Mets. He was originally expected to return Monday in Houston.

• Corey Seager (appendectomy): Seager is still likely over a week away from returning as he continues recovering from an appendectomy he underwent on Aug. 28. He could be back for the final homestand against Miami and Minnesota, which begins on Sept. 19.

• Tyler Mahle (right shoulder fatigue): Will make one more rehab start with Double-A Frisco this weekend after tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings for Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.

• Sam Haggerty (left ankle inflammation): Started running again on Monday and Tuesday at Globe Life Field. He is expected to start a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco on Sept. 12.

To subscribe to Rangers Beat, visit this page and mark "Rangers Beat" from our newsletter list. Make sure you're following the Rangers or that they're checked as your favorite team.

View Online

© 2025 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Please review our Privacy Policy.

You (mlb-newsletters@mlb.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from MLB. 

Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe or log in and manage your email subscriptions.

Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.