The Rangers’ Rotation Has the Upside To Be the Best in Baseball

Starting pitching preeminence and the Texas Rangers are not historically two things that have gone together. Yet, despite unforeseen hurdles and injuries that will have to be navigated, this 2025 Rangers rotation has a high ceiling.

How high of a ceiling? Stay with me here. This Texas Rangers rotation could end up being the best in baseball. There, I said it. Laugh if you must, but this group of hurlers has already shown that they can be dominant from top to bottom.

So, where did the Rangers rotation rank among the best in the league heading into the season? In Rachael Millanta’s piece for Just Baseball that covered the top five rotations in MLB, the Rangers didn’t make the cut. They didn’t even earn honorable mention status like the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves.

The closest the Rangers got to the list was with the Royals at number five; the Royals have two former Rangers in their rotation, Cole Ragans and Michael Lorenzen. Or perhaps they got even closer at number two; after all, the Phillies have a pitcher named Ranger (Ranger Suárez).

All joke aside, the article was put together fantastically, and excluding the Rangers at that time was not a mistake.

Stats updated prior to games on April 8, 2025.

Why the Sudden Optimism?

I would say that there has been optimism about this rotation since early spring training. Who wouldn’t like a rotation of Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Cody Bradford, and Tyler Mahle? But then Gray and Bradford went down with injuries, and optimism quickly turned to pessimism.

Instead of being able to have Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker as depth pieces, they had to start the season in the rotation. That’s not a bad duo to have to fall back on. Still, the depth that the Rangers’ front office had put together would have to be called upon much earlier than they had anticipated.

But all in all, the Rangers staff has performed well thus far. A rotation isn’t asked to be perfect. There will always be some games that get away early, and the starter just has to take it on the chin to keep the bullpen fresh.

Even with a few not-so-great starts in the mix, every pitcher in the Texas Rangers rotation has shown signs of brilliance.

Through their first 11 games, the staff boasts a 2.95 ERA. After Monday’s slate of games, that slots in as the seventh best in baseball and the second best in the American League behind Tampa Bay’s 2.82 ERA. The Mets lead all of baseball with a 2.16 ERA.

As a whole, the walks have been down, and the strikeouts have been up. The rotation ranks sixth in both BB/9 with 2.13 and K% at 23.6%. One of the most impressive numbers thus far is the starters’ WHIP. They rank fourth in MLB with a 1.02 WHIP.

Vandy Boys to the Rescue

Jack Leiter has been the guy that the Rangers dreamed of when they selected him with the second overall pick in the 2021 MLB draft. His two starts have both been five innings each and have earned him his first and second career victories.

In 10 innings of work, Leiter has struck out 10, walked only one, has a 0.90 ERA, and a 0.700 WHIP. He has shown great command of all five of his pitches and is using them all with regularity.

A quick glance at Leiters’ Baseball Savant page shows it is lit up with red, which is great.

Looking at his pitch selection shows Leiter’s true five-pitch mix. He has thrown his four-seamer the most at 28.3%, and his slider comes in a close second at 24.3%. Leiter’s other three quality pitches come in with the sinker at 19.7% usage, changeup at 16.4%, and he has used his curve 11.2% of the time.

He is keeping hitters off-balance and looking like a superstar. Leiter is going to miss his next time through the rotation due to a blister that came up during his last start. Minor setback, but Leiter is a big reason why this Rangers starting rotation is going to be so good this year.

Fellow Vandy Boy, Kumar Rocker, has had two very different starts. The first one lasted only three innings and saw the big righty allow six earned runs to the Reds. But his second start of the season is a reason to be optimistic.

In that second start, Rocker looked much more in command. He was able to make it through six innings and only gave up one run. Rocker is a great talent that will have some ups and downs this season. But with the level of pitching around him, the good should outweigh the bad.

With the injuries that have been sustained, having Rocker as their fifth starter isn’t a bad thing for the Rangers.

One-Two Punch: Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi

DeGrom and Eovaldi make up one of the top starter tandems in baseball. Their stuff is elite. Not only that, but they raise the level of performance of the guys around them. When the youngsters have the opportunity to watch these two prepare and then throw every fifth day, it has a massive impact.

After his start on Sunday, Rocker had this to say about his veteran teammates. “I see two horses that lead it in deGrom and Eovaldi,” Rocker said. “They lead us, and we try to be like them. All you do is follow them, watch what they do week to week and try to repeat it.”

DeGrom is still one of the best in the game when healthy. And after returning from his second Tommy John surgery, the 36-year-old looks like he is indeed healthy once again. That is bad news for the AL West and the rest of the Rangers’ 2025 opponents.

In 10.2 IP, deGrom has struck out nine and walked two, pitching to a 3.38 ERA and a 1.125 WHIP. And the best part for the Rangers is that he is just going to get better. As he dials in his mechanics and command, he is likely to return to Cy Young-caliber deGrom.

A pitcher doesn’t get the nickname Big Game Eovaldi for nothing. One of the true elites when it comes to stepping up in the big situations, Eovaldi is already adding to his legacy this season.

When the Rangers ‘pen was overused and tired, what did Eovaldi do? He went out and threw one of the greatest regular-season games in Rangers history. A complete game shutout on the road against a team that had scored 14 against them the night before. What a clutch performance.

Through his first three starts, Eovaldi has posted some solid numbers. He hasn’t been perfect, but he has kept the team in each of his outings. In 19.2 IP, Eovaldi has struck out 21, walked two, has a 2.29 ERA, and a 0.661 WHIP.

Rocker’s assessment was correct. The Rangers have two horses leading their rotation.

Tyler Mahle and the Patrick Corbin Experiment

When the Rangers signed Tyler Mahle to a two-year deal prior to last season, the club was looking to this season as the real payoff. After coming back from Tommy John surgery, Mahle missed the majority of last year.

His first start of 2025 was shaky. Mahle was only able to make it through 1.2 innings. Despite walking four, he surrendered only one earned run.

Fast forward to his next start, and he was electric. Mahle threw five innings of one-hit ball and allowed no runs. He only walked two and struck out five. After his first two starts, he has a 1.35 ERA. Extremely solid for a fourth starter.

And then there is the experiment of Patrick Corbin. There was an outburst of both anger and laughter when the Rangers added the veteran lefty late in the spring. Corbin has been one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball over the last four years. That is a fact.

But what he does bring to the table is that he is also one of the most reliable arms from a health standpoint. The guy just goes out and throws. I’m sorry if some of you don’t like the term innings eater, but that is exactly what he is.

Over the last four seasons, Corbin has had a 5.71 ERA. But he has also thrown 679 innings. For a team that needs to plug in a guy while others are out, he makes perfect sense. He helps keep innings off of the bullpen and also gives the team a chance for a win if they can get the bats going.

The Rangers have had success with some late-career revivals for pitchers, and perhaps this will be another one. But more realistically, Corbin will fill the role of spot starter and perhaps, eventually, long-man out of the bullpen. He is not the centerpiece of this rotation, and any positive production will be a bonus.

Depth Getting Healthy

Even though it is still going to be a little while before both Jon Gray and Cody Bradford are back on the mound in Arlington, the fact that quality reinforcements are coming is awesome. Because at some point, there will more than likely be another starter that might need to miss some time.

In Gray and Bradford, the Rangers will be getting not just depth but top-shelf arms. Both of these guys were going to play a huge role in the Rangers’ rotation in 2025, and I believe that they still will, even though it is going to be slightly delayed.

The Rangers are going to take their time with both Gray and Bradford and won’t bring them back until they are sure that they will be able to pitch effectively through the remainder of the season. But having guys like this who will be coming back mid-season is sure to be a boost to an already solid rotation.

If the current starters are healthy, it will be a good problem for Bruce Bochy, as he will be able to move some guys into the ‘pen and leave others in the rotation. There is also the possibility that some of the starters down in Triple-A Round Rock could get a spot start or two along the way.

Adrian Houser has thrown well so far for the Express. In his first two starts of the year, he has thrown 10 innings, struck out 14, walked two, hit two, has a 3.60 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP.

So not only has the current Rangers staff been shoving, but the guys that are waiting in the wings or coming back from injury mid-season are quality arms. This rotation took some body blows in the spring, but their depth has already proven to be a lifesaver.

The Rangers will look to dodge any major injuries to their starters throughout the season. If they are able to navigate the injury bug, this rotation definitely has the arms to be at the top of baseball come September.

And then, if they are able to take a healthy deGrom, Eovaldi, Leiter, and the boys into October. Well, Rangers fans can dream. And perhaps HOF radio announcer Eric Nadel will have yet another opportunity to let them know that they aren’t dreaming.