The Texas Rangers have spent the past year trying to rebuild their pitching depth, and one of the newest names pushing his way into the conversation is Moises Morales.
Morales, a 22-year-old right-hander from Venezuela, just capped a huge August for Class A Hickory by being named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Month. He was dominant throughout the month, going 4-0 with a 0.82 ERA while allowing only two earned runs across 22 innings. He also walked three batters, struck out 19 and finished with a 0.86 WHIP.
What made the month stand out even more was the way he did it. Morales appeared in four games, with only two starts, and picked up wins both as a starter and out of the bullpen.
By the time August ended, he led the Carolina League in wins, ERA and WHIP. He also sat second in opponent batting average at .216, hits per nine innings at 6.55 and strikeout-to-walk ratio at 6.33.
His month got rolling in a hurry. In his first outing of August, Morales threw five perfect innings and struck out five in a 7-0 Hickory win.
For the Rangers, this is exactly the kind of development they’ve been chasing. Texas dealt away several pitchers at last year’s trade deadline, including Kohl Drake and Mitch Bratt, both of whom are already in the Majors.
David Hagaman is also closing in on reaching The Show. Since then, the organization has worked to restock the system through the international market, the draft and minor league free agency.
Morales has become one of the most encouraging results of that effort. Signed by the Rangers in 2023 out of Venezuela, he spent two years in the Dominican Summer League before moving to the Arizona Complex League for another season without a promotion. Over those three seasons combined, he went 3-5.
This year has been a different story. Morales is 10-2 with a 3.29 ERA in 21 games, 12 of them starts. He has 93 strikeouts and 24 walks in 95.2 innings, and opposing hitters are batting .217 against him.
He still isn’t in MLB Pipeline’s Rangers Top 30 prospects, but a season like this gives him a real chance to land near the back end of that list when it resets later this year or early next year.
For Morales, the breakout has changed the trajectory. For Texas, it’s another arm worth developing.
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BZZR is only locked in through the end of the season, though, and the bigger question is what comes next. The Rangers have options on the table, including Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV and MLB.TV, but none has been finalized, and the team is still sitting on an estimated $30 million it is owed by Victory+ with little realistic chance of getting it back. [Read more 🡒]
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The Rangers have spent the better part of recent seasons trying to build a roster and payroll strong enough to keep pace with the divisions heavyweights, and the Angels have often been part of that equation in a frustrating way. A new owner with deep sports ties could change how aggressive Los Angeles is in the market and how quickly it tries to close the gap, which is exactly why this sale is worth watching from Arlington. The Rangers do not just need to worry about the teams that have already been threats. They may soon be dealing with a different kind of competition down the freeway. [Read more 🡒]
Evan Carter Has One Big Hurdle In His Rangers Breakout Path
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For Texas, that leaves Carter in a familiar but important spot: still young enough to project forward, but clear-eyed enough to know the offensive answer will likely require some swing adjustments. The Rangers do not need him to reinvent himself overnight, but they do need the bat to catch up with the glove if he is going to reclaim the ceiling that made him such an exciting piece in the first place. An offseason of mechanical work may be where that next step has to start. [Read more 🡒]