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Texas Rangers top 10 prospects for 2019

By Benjamin Chase

ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 03: Willie Calhoun #5 of the Texas Rangers hits in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Park in Arlington on August 3, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 03: Willie Calhoun #5 of the Texas Rangers hits in the second inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Globe Life Park in Arlington on August 3, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Rick Yeatts/Getty Images) /
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9. Joe Palumbo, LHP

Birthday: 10/26/1994 (24)
Acquired: Draft, 30th round, 2013
Level(s): AZL Rangers, high-A Down East, AA Frisco
Statistics: 2-4, 11 GS, 45 1/3 IP, 2.78 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 5.4% BB, 31.7%

The Texas Rangers drafted a cold-weather lefty from New York high school in the 30th round in Joe Palumbo, expecting he’d likely head to a college instead, but they were pleased when he signed.

The only issue was, he didn’t really show the way that they expected for his first few years with the organization, making 16 starts as part of 40 appearances, throwing 121 innings with a 54/114 BB/K and a 3.12 ERA. Nothing bad, necessarily, but nothing eye-catching either.

Then Palumbo spent the entire 2016 season working as a swingman in low-A with Hickory, tossing 96 1/3 innings, with a 2.24 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 36/122 BB/K ratio, garnering a ton of attention. He moved up to high-A to open 2017, but after 3 dominant starts (0.66 ERA, 0.59 WHIP, and a 4/22 BB/K over 13 2/3 innings), he needed Tommy John surgery.

He came back in 2018, and he took time to get on the mound and pitch well, but once he did, he was dominant, finishing his year with two impressive starts in AA.

At his best, Palumbo has a mid-90s fastball with impressive life and deception in his delivery that allows the pitch to explode on hitters. He shows a change with good tumble that flashed above-average during the year, but his curve was more hit or miss in his feel for the pitch, which is fairly common for guys coming back on their first year after TJS.

Palumbo will open 2019 in AA, and if he can get the feel back for his once-plus curve to go with the rest of his stuff, he could work as a mid-rotation starter. Even with his curve not making it all the way back, he could be devastating out of the bullpen for the Texas Rangers.

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