A season that once sounded borderline impossible for Texas has turned into a first-place push in the American League West, and Jacob Latz is right in the middle of it.
Before the year, few Rangers fans would have guessed Nicky Lopez and Elias Diaz would be everyday players, that Texas would be above .500 in July without much from Corey Seager, or that Latz would settle in as a dependable closer. Yet all of that has played out, and now Skip Schumaker’s club is heading into a pivotal series with the Houston Astros sitting alone atop the division.
Latz has been a major reason why. He was recently named an All-Star for the first time, and the selection fit the season he’s put together.
That showed up again Thursday night in a chaotic 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Texas blew a 6-1 lead before Wyatt Langford ended it with a walk-off base hit.
Latz, back on the mound for the first time since June 30, handled 1.2 scoreless innings and struck out three. No win, no save - just another clean job from the arm Texas keeps leaning on.
That’s been the story all year.
Latz entered spring training battling Kumar Rocker for the final rotation spot, and Rocker won it. But when Jacob deGrom was scratched for the second game of the season, Latz got the call and fired four hitless innings. After that, he worked out of the middle of the bullpen until Schumaker tried him in the ninth inning on April 25 against the Athletics.
He saved that game, and the role has belonged to him ever since. Latz has put up a career-best 1.65 ERA, converted 18 of 20 save chances, held opponents to a .122 average and struck out 46 while walking only 10.
The fastball sits around 95 mph, so this isn’t the classic overpowering closer profile. But Latz has been hard to square up, and he’s been especially valuable because of how often he can work more than one inning. His nine multi-inning saves lead MLB.
For Texas, that matters. The Rangers have spent years trying to solve the back end of the bullpen, and even during the 2023 World Series run, Jose Leclerc didn’t fully take over the closer job until late in the year. Leclerc finished that regular season with four saves, while Will Smith had 22.
This time, the Rangers didn’t go outside the organization for a high-leverage fix. They found one inside the room. Latz turned a lost rotation battle into the best season of his career, and in the process became the answer at the end of games.
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The turnaround matters because it changes how Texas can think about a former top pick whose early big-league numbers had left plenty of doubt. Foscue is no longer just a prospect story or a reminder of past struggles, and his work against left-handed pitching has made him more than a feel-good rebound candidate. The bigger question now is how much of this surge the Rangers can count on going forward. [Read more 🡒]
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That matters now because the Rangers are heading into the draft with the 16th overall pick and a front office that can point to a recent track record instead of a hope-and-pray philosophy. The bigger question is whether this run of hits is the start of a true organizational edge or just a strong stretch that still needs one more impact player to make it feel complete. [Read more 🡒]