Texas Rangers Talk: Can Tanner Scheppers Ever Be Trusted?
By Reid Hanson
Don’t look now, but after a disastrous performance this weekend, Texas Rangers relief pitcher, Tanner Scheppers, made his way back to the DL. This begs the question – “Can Tanner Scheppers ever be trusted?”
This is a question the Texas Rangers front office needs to be asking themselves as they contemplate Tanner Scheppers’ future. The troubled 8th inning arm has been through tough times the past two seasons, causing many to wonder if his impressive 2013 season was nothing more than a fluke.
After posting a 1.88 ERA in 76.2 innings pitched in 2013, Scheppers posted a 9.00 ERA in 2014 and currently holds a 5.66 ERA in his 35 innings in 2015. As shown on the chart below, his WHIP and AVG allowed has regressed as well.
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Instead of looking like the bright young star many of us were hoping him to be, Scheppers now looks to be following the Neftali Feliz Career Trajectory (aka: quick peak followed immediately by a downward spiral). As such, his days may be numbered in Arlington.
It’s easy to call this all a knee-jerk reaction to what ruined an otherwise beautiful team debut for newly-acquired ace, Cole Hamels. Hamels exited the game against San Francisco with a three run lead and only four outs to victory. Scheppers came in and allowed three runs without managing to get a single out.
The Texas Rangers went on to lose that game, and fans couldn’t help but blame Tanner Scheppers for destroying the heralded debut of Hamels. Fast forward to Monday and the Texas Rangers have once again moved Scheppers to the DL, citing an inflamed left knee.
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This is what Rangers fans have grown accustomed to. After all, this is the man who just two weeks ago allowed 4 runs off 3 hits in just one inning of work. What’s particularly noteworthy about that game against Colorado, was that despite his poor performance, Scheppers managed to get the “win” on his record.
In all fairness, Tanners Scheppers’ most recent debacle was a bit of bad luck as well. Two broken bats and a couple softly hit bloopers aren’t usually going to give up the runs that Scheppers allowed, but it always seems to be something with him.
This season’s stats aren’t kind to Tanner Scheppers. Scheppers is delivering swing-and-miss pitches only 8.3% of the time. That’s among the league’s worst and almost mind-boggling considering he consistently delivers his fastballs well above 95mph.
It may be that Scheppers lacks a reliable off-speed pitch, allowing batters to hone in on his speed. It could also be the lack of movement on his pitches that make them so darn hitable. Whatever is to blame, its been an issue for quite a while now, and the Rangers would be wise to assess his future sooner, rather than later.
The Texas Rangers are still trying to win this season, but everything is based on making the team better next season when Yu Darvish, Derek Holland, and Martin Perez can join Cole Hamels in the starting rotation.
It’s hard to see how a very shaky RP like Tanner Scheppers can be relied on any more this season, let alone next year when the pressure to produce is really on this organization.
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