Just a couple of months ago, the Texas Rangers sent David Davalillo down to the Arizona Complex League to clean some things up. Now the 25-year-old right-hander is back in the conversation for a much bigger stage.
Davalillo, ranked No. 15 in the Rangers’ system by MLB Pipeline, just picked up Pacific Coast League pitcher of the week honors after a sharp outing for the Round Rock Express. He’s the third Rangers pitcher to win the award this season, and the second straight week a Texas arm has taken it after Dalton Pence did it last week.
Against Sugar Land last Friday, Davalillo delivered six scoreless innings and allowed only one hit while walking none and striking out seven. He retired the first 12 hitters he faced, and the lone hit he gave up was wiped out by a double play. The six innings and seven strikeouts were both career bests for him at Round Rock.
The month of August has been especially kind to him. In nine games and eight starts with the Express this season, he has yet to issue a walk in August and owns a 2.70 ERA for the month, along with 13 strikeouts and a 0.75 WHIP.
The full-season line still looks rough on paper: 1-8 with a 4.72 ERA across all four affiliates he has pitched for this year. At Round Rock, he is 0-4 with a 5.71 ERA. But since returning there in August, he has been a different pitcher.
That’s why the obvious question is starting to surface: could a major league debut be next?
Texas has already had Davalillo on its practice squad earlier this season when the club was bracing for possible rotation help, though he never got into a game. This time, the need is real.
Jack Leiter has been out since June after ankle surgery and is on a rehab assignment. Nathan Eovaldi is on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow issue, and the earliest he can come back is next Monday.
Jacob deGrom is dealing with right triceps fatigue, and the Rangers have not placed him on the injured list yet.
The path to the big leagues is simple enough. Davalillo is already on the 40-man roster, so Texas would only need to make a 26-man move to bring him up. He last pitched Friday and could be available again as soon as Wednesday, which would line up with deGrom’s turn if the Rangers choose to push the rotation back a day after Monday’s off day, something Texas usually does.
It would be a lot to ask of him in the middle of a playoff race. But the Rangers may not have many other choices. Texas also knows what Davalillo accomplished last season, when he won the Nolan Ryan minor league pitcher of the year award and led Rangers minor leaguers with at least 100 innings in strikeouts per 9.0 at 10.60, strikeout rate at 29.6%, opponent batting average, and WHIP.
In Other News...
Rangers Player Development Just Took An Encouraging Turn
The Rangers farm system has been getting a little healthier-looking lately, and David Davalillo added to that feeling with a strong run in the Pacific Coast League. The right-hander was named PCL Pitcher of the Week for Aug. 11-16, another sign that Texas has a pitcher in the upper levels who is pushing his way into the conversation as the organization keeps trying to stock the pipeline with arms that can help down the road.
There is also movement coming in the lower minors, where the Rangers are reportedly pushing two-way players Josh Owens and Seong-Jun Kim up from the Arizona Complex League to Hickory. Both have shown enough promise in the complex league to earn the next step, and Hickory will give them a more demanding setting to keep building on that early progress. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Farm System Is Giving Fans Plenty To Watch Right Now
The Rangers farm system has turned into a steady source of box-score interest, with Hickory, Hub City, Frisco and Round Rock all supplying something worth tracking right now. The report digs into both sides of the ball, with pitchers logging innings, strikeouts and the usual mix of runs and hits allowed, while the bats are contributing doubles, home runs, walks and stolen bases across the affiliates.
For a club that always has an eye on the pipeline, this kind of spread matters because it gives the Rangers a fuller picture than one hot week from one prospect. From pitching lines that hint at development to lineups producing across levels, there is enough going on in the system to keep fans watching closely, even if the next big breakthrough is still waiting to be defined. [Read more 🡒]