Texas Rangers' Newest Starting Pitcher Might Impact Young Prospects

The Texas Rangers made major waves on Tuesday when they announced the signing of veteran starting pitcher Patrick Corbin to what the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported is a one-year deal with just over $1 million in guaranteed salary with incentives.

The move was necessary due to recent injury concerns surrounding pitchers Jon Gray and Cody Bradford.

Bradford will start the season on the injured list due to a sore left elbow, and Gray is heading to the 60-day injured list after fracturing his wrist on a comebacker.

In terms of proven starters, that leaves the Rangers with only Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle on the active roster.

Bradford was the leader in the clubhouse for a battle with the fifth spot with talented prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, but where do the two injuries and the subsequent Corbin signing leave the former Vanderbilt teammates and top draft choices?

Quick, simple math dictates that one of the two will nearly certainly leave spring training with one of the five spots in the rotation.

Even if Corbin is immediately ready to join the rotation (and according to MLB.com and president of baseball operations Chris Young, he's built up to about 80 pitches on a throwing program he's done at home), that leaves only four spots filled.

Leiter has done everything he can in spring training to claim a spot. In five appearances, he's thrown 14.2 innings of 3.07 ERA, 1.36 WHIP ball, and he's struck out 17 while showcasing an exciting uptick in velocity to the upper-90s on his four-seam fastball.

Rocker has struggled badly, lasting only 4.1 innings over three appearances and surrendering an ERA of 22.85 in those contests.

Rocker slightly outperformed Leiter in their limited appearances at the Major League level in 2024, but neither performed so well as to necessitate an opportunity to start this season in the rotation.

The Rangers are likely to need to lean on at least one of these two high-ceiling options, and a baptism by fire could be exactly what the doctor ordered for their respective development paths.

There is also the need to consider the workload on deGrom, whose injury struggles in recent years are well documented and who has embraced a different approach to ensuring his health and success in 2025.

If the Rangers are not comfortable with both Rocker and Leiter in their rotation on a full-time basis, they could also consider stretching out former starter Dane Dunning to take on the role. Dunning started in 15 of his 26 2024 appearances.