{"id":116090,"date":"2026-03-22T14:24:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T18:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=116090"},"modified":"2026-03-22T14:25:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T18:25:47","slug":"texas-rangers-fifth-starter-battle-comes-down-to-the-wire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/22\/texas-rangers-fifth-starter-battle-comes-down-to-the-wire\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Rangers\u2019 Fifth Starter Battle Comes Down to the Wire"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Texas Rangers\u2019 final rotation spot remains unsettled deep into spring, with left-hander Jacob Latz<\/a> and former first-round pick Kumar Rocker<\/a> making very different cases for the job.<\/p>\n

That battle has been one of the main storylines throughout camp. Both pitchers have had their ups and downs dating back to the 2025 season and into Spring Training, leaving the Rangers weighing reliability against upside as Opening Day approaches.<\/p>\n

Jacob Latz<\/h2>\n

2025 stats: 2.84 ERA in 85 2\/3 innings
\nSpring Training stats: 8.22 ERA in 15 1\/3 innings (14 runs)<\/p>\n

Latz\u2019s spring<\/a> has not gone as smoothly as he had wanted while he looks to earn his spot in the rotation.<\/p>\n

His 8.22 ERA is skewed heavily by one disastrous outing against Milwaukee, where he allowed nine runs on eight hits in three innings. Even outside of that start, his results have been uneven, raising some questions about his consistency as a full-time starter as he has posted a 5.11 ERA in 12 and 1\/3 innings.<\/p>\n

That hasn\u2019t swayed Manager Skip Schumaker<\/a> as he emphasized that one game in Spring Training doesn\u2019t make or break a player\u2019s chances to make a position.<\/p>\n

What continues to work in Latz\u2019s favor is what he showed late last season. When injuries forced him into the rotation, he delivered, finishing the year with an ERA under three while proving he could handle starting responsibilities.<\/p>\n

While Rocker\u2019s upside is undeniable, Latz currently offers the more reliable option for a team with postseason expectations. He has already shown he can succeed in multiple roles and gives the Rangers a dependable left-handed presence.<\/p>\n

Kumar Rocker<\/h2>\n

2025 stats: 5.74 ERA in 64 1\/3 innings
\nSpring Training stats: 4.26 ERA in 12 2\/3 innings (six runs)<\/p>\n

Rocker has had a better go of it in the spring<\/a> compared to Latz, but has struggled to put it together in the regular season when he\u2019s been called upon to start.<\/p>\n

\"Will
Jul 31, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Kumar Rocker (80) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He spent much of last season moving between Triple-A and the big leagues, working through mechanical adjustments and continuing to develop the mental side of pitching.<\/p>\n

His mechanics have looked sharper with 14 strikeouts against just three walks compared to the 2025 regular season where he had 56 strikeouts and 23 walks.<\/p>\n

The upside remains clear. His stuff can be overpowering when everything is working, but consistency has been the missing piece. The question for the Rangers is whether that consistency is close enough to trust him in the rotation at the start of the season.<\/p>\n

The Last Word<\/h2>\n

Latz and Rocker present two very different options for the Rangers.<\/p>\n

Latz brings stability. He has already proven he can produce at the major league level, both out of the bullpen and in the rotation, and was trending upward as a starter late last season.<\/p>\n

Rocker brings the higher ceiling. His raw ability gives him the potential to be a long-term piece of the rotation, but he has yet to consistently translate that into results at the big league level.<\/p>\n

There is also a scenario where both pitchers factor into the plan, whether that\u2019s piggybacking starts or one working out of the bullpen while the other takes the rotation spot.<\/p>\n

The Rangers don\u2019t necessarily need to choose just one long-term answer\u2014but to open the season, stability matters more than projection. That gives Latz the edge for the final rotation spot, with Rocker likely continuing his development in Triple-A until his consistency catches up with his talent.<\/p>\n

No matter how it plays out, both pitchers are going to have a role at some point this season. The Rangers will need them.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Texas Rangers\u2019 final rotation spot remains unsettled deep into spring, with left-hander Jacob Latz and former first-round pick Kumar Rocker making very different cases for the job. That battle has been one of the main storylines throughout camp. Both pitchers have had their ups and downs dating back to the 2025 season and into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5610,"featured_media":116104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,1071,35],"tags":[29317,2051,3162],"class_list":["post-116090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rangers","category-mlb","category-news","tag-jacob-latz","tag-kumar-rocker","tag-skip-schumaker"],"modified_by":"Augustus Oswald, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5610"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116090"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116108,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116090\/revisions\/116108"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}