However, the injuries are what they are and the new reality will put the Rangers' farm system to a big test.
Evan Grant discusses this in a new post:
"The Texas Rangers’ opening day starting rotation will not feature Yu Darvish. It will not feature comeback kids Colby Lewis or Matt Harrison. It will not feature a single member of the 2013 opening day rotation.
What it will feature: A heavy emphasis on scouting and player development.
On a hectic day in which the Rangers’ spring training campus become more of a train depot than a clubhouse, the club closed the Arizona portion of the spring training schedule by announcing a starting rotation of Tanner Scheppers, Martin Perez, Robbie Ross, Joe Saunders and … Nick Martinez.
This came moments after general manager Jon Daniels announced that Darvish’s sore neck isn’t a long-term concern but will send him to the disabled list to start the season and that the Rangers were tossing recycling project Tommy Hanson onto the compost heap.
Instead, Scheppers, a setup man last year, will get the opening day start against Cliff Lee. He’ll become the first pitcher since 1981 and only the second since the end of World War II to make his first start on opening day. The other guy was Fernando Valenzuela, and the pomp didn’t seem to overwhelm him.
Scheppers will be followed by Perez, who began last year in the minors; Ross, another bullpen convert; Saunders, a veteran journeyman signed two weeks into camp after spending 2013 with Seattle and Martinez, who is 23, has exactly four starts above Class A and pitched all of 21/3 innings in the major league camp this spring. And two of those were on Tuesday.
If you are counting, four of those five are guys the Rangers discovered and developed. For an organization trying to emphasize that ideal in building a pitching staff, the numbers pop."
Yes, the numbers do pop! Let's hope that the catcher's mitt pops too!Logic tells you that most of these young guys will go back to the bullpen or minors when Darvish, Harrison & Holland return. At the same, it won't be the first time in baseball history that a young guy takes an opportunity and runs with it.
I can't wait to see Scheppers and Ross take the mound. I have a good feeling that fans will be happy with their output. They have great arms and a great pitching coach in Mike Maddux!
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