Texas Rangers: What Taylor Hearn needs most to bounce back
By Reid Hanson
Taylor Hearn was terrible in his Texas Rangers debut and if he hopes to correct his course he’ll need a whole bunch of this…
They had one job to do. One above all else. Put the future above today. This season the Texas Rangers were tasked with building for the future and looking to the needs of tomorrow before the needs of today. With no real chance at contention, a short sighted view isn’t just foolish – it’s irresponsible.
It’s this line of thinking that made many of so nervous heading into the season. With so many reclamation projects in the pitching ranks, the Texas Rangers were sure to eat through pitchers at a rapid pace. As such, they couldn’t afford to go thin in the pitching department.
Yet, Texas rolled into the 2019 season shallow in starting pitching nonetheless. Not surprisingly, we’ve seen starters falter in their comeback bids. We’ve even seen some move to the IL. The Rangers have been doing their best to cover for the loses, but the overworked bullpen is only magnifying the issue.
Don’t rush the prospects
The Texas Rangers have a history of prematurely moving up prospects in the past. It shouldn’t be surprising their success rate at developing pitching is mindbogglingly low.
The Texas Rangers committed the cardinal sin of rushing Taylor Hearn to the majors only to see him crash and burn in epic fashion. For a franchise that’s focused on the future, that’s pretty much a worst-case scenario right there.
In Taylor Hearn‘s first start last night, he gave up five, only getting one out, posting a 108.00 ERA. It doesn’t get much worse than that. This is the kind of debut players don’t come back from. That’s not to say this has doomed the future of Hearn. It’s just to say we’ve seen players spiral for much less.
More from Texas Rangers
- Texas Rangers hitting the reset button with Jonathan Hernandez
- Texas Rangers lose Jacob deGrom to Tommy John: Next steps
- Grant Anderson gives the Texas Rangers their missing ingredient
- Texas Rangers: How Adolis Garcia started putting up MVP numbers
- Why Kumar Rocker is still a successful pick for the Texas Rangers
Taylor Hearn has the stuff to be a major league starter. That’s not really a question. And while it was his control that sunk him Thursday night, it’s not his control standing in the way of his success. The biggest obstacle now is how he handles this between the ears and in his chest cavity.
This has now become a battle of fortitude and heart.
Taylor Hearn sounds like he has the right attitude based on his postgame comments last night. But words are words and actions always say more. Hearn is going to have to overcome this meltdown the Rangers essentially forced him into. He’s going to have to find a way to put it behind him and not let it creep into his mind next time he gets off to a bad start. Much easier said than done.
Next. The real test is upon the Rangers now. dark
Am I making too much of this? Possibly so, but the frustration I feel towards the Texas Rangers for putting him in this position is hard to ignore.
- Published on 04/26/2019 at 13:00 PM
- Last updated at 04/26/2019 at 10:07 AM