The Texas Rangers have the best record in the American League at the All Star break, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t improve. With Yu Darvish having injury issues and Derek Holland struggling mightily this season, the Rangers have been scouting Padres ace Drew Pomeranz.
We are just weeks away from the August 1 trade deadline. With that, contending teams have started to zone in on players that they are interested in trading adding to their club. The Texas Rangers won the AL West in 2015, but have a great better chance to improve on their finish this season. There are a couple of areas where the AL West leaders can improve. Catcher has been a sticking point all season and the struggles of Shawn Tolleson could drive Texas to make a move for a bullpen arm. However, it seems like the Rangers are aiming high in their pursuit for another starting pitcher.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that the Rangers have been doing background work on most of the starting pitching options, but have been particularly intrigued by left-hander Drew Pomeranz.
Pomeranz was acquired by the San Diego Padres this past offseason in a deal that sent Yonder Alonso to the Oakland Athletics. The Padres look to have won that deal big time as Pomeranz has been one of the best starting pitchers in the National League. The 28 year-old currently sits with an ERA of 2.47 and is averaging 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. His walks numbers are a bit high as he is averaging around 3.5 walks every nine innings. But obviously, he has been over to overcome that making his first all-star appearance in 2016.
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While Pomeranz was solid out of the bullpen for Oakland the past two seasons, he has taken a major jump through the first half of this year, and his success doesn’t seem like a fluke. While his average fastball velocity is 90.0 mph, which is exactly a mile and a half less than he was throwing last season, he is getting the most swing and misses of his career and is pitching to less hard contact than ever before.
According to FanGraphs, when a ball is put play against the San Diego Padre, only 15 percent of the balls hit are line drives, and five percent more of them are ground balls than last season, now sitting at 47.8 percent. Pomeranz is also relying on his curveball much more in 2016, throwing it about 39 percent of the time, which is the highest of his career by nearly ten percent. This has been a welcome change for the lefty with great production he’s had so far.
There is some concern over a lack of track record as a productive starter and that he pitches in a ballpark that has been known to favor pitching, but his peripheral numbers have supported that the 28 year-old may have taken the next step in his development as a pitcher.
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The Rangers biggest need may be in it’s starting rotation, being that they currently have three pitchers on the disabled list in Yu Darvish, Derek Holland and Colby Lewis. Darvish is supposed to return this week, but is making his second comeback from injury this season alone. Texas needs some certainty behind Cole Hamels and Pomeranz is one of the better options that could realistically be acquired at the deadline.
Another aspect that makes Drew Pomeranz an enticing addition is that he is controlled through two more seasons after 2016, giving the Rangers even more depth in the coming seasons for more potential postseason runs.
However, this also gives San Diego greater leverage in negotiations, meaning that Texas would need to part with a least one of their better prospects to secure the 2016 all star. The Rangers do have a deep farm system even after acquiring Hamels, with the likes of Lewis Brinson and Dillon Tate headlining possible top prospects that could be on the move this summer.
The Rangers are clearly exploring the starting pitching market and have the young talent to bring in a pitcher that can provide some insurance behind their ace, and Drew Pomeranz is one of the better starters available.
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