SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Ricardo Rodriguez and Chris Young both
had short, successful stints when they were among 17 different
starting pitchers used last season by the Texas Rangers.
This spring, they are the top candidates for what is likely the
only available spot in the rotation -- for now. And both are making
strong cases to be the No. 5 starter.
The 6-foot-10 Young, a former college basketball player and
tallest pitcher in Rangers history, has allowed three runs over
nine innings his three games. All the runs came in the last inning
in a game against Seattle when he threw 32 of 41 pitches for
strikes over four innings.
Rodriguez isn't having any problem pitching with a five-inch
screw in the right elbow that was shattered by a line drive in
July. He threw 4 2-3 shutout innings Tuesday against Colorado,
lowering his spring ERA to 4.50, with seven strikeouts over 10
innings.
Young, who was 3-2 with a 4.71 ERA in seven starts at the end of
last season, is scheduled to start Friday against San Diego.
"I think I'd have a lot more uncertainty and questions coming
into this camp if I didn't have the seven starts," he said. "That
allowed me to see what kind of pitcher I could be at this level. I
think it builds a little confidence for me. It answers some
questions."
Rodriguez had a different set of questions when he got to spring
training last month.
After throwing only long toss during the winter, Rodriguez
worried about how his arm was going to respond to pitching again.
He got a positive answer quickly.
"After I threw batting practice, all my confidence came back,"
Rodriguez said. "Now I feel a lot better than before."
Rodriguez started last season with Triple A Oklahoma, where he
had an emergency appendectomy. Once recovered from that, he was
recalled by Texas in June, and was 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA in his fifth
game for the Rangers when he broke his elbow.
"I think he's over thinking about where he was physically and
is concentrating on pitching," manager Buck Showalter said.
Both Young and Rodriguez are likely to get their share of starts
in the majors this season, no matter which one wins the No. 5 job
out of the spring.
But the season-opening No. 5 starter should get four starts the
first three weeks. The Rangers play 20 straight games before their
first off day April 25.
The top four spots in the rotation seem set, as long as Pedro
Astacio and Chan Ho Park continue to pitch effectively and show
they are healthy. Kenny Rogers, the 40-year-old left-hander who won
a career-high 18 games last season, and 14-game winner Ryan Drese
are the top two starters.
Rogers, whose only `A' game appearance so far this spring was
the first inning of the opener, is scheduled to start Thursday
against San Francisco.
Game notes
The Rangers had their third `A' game in two days Wednesday,
a night game in Tucson about 2½ hours away. Except for C Rod
Barajas and CF Laynce Nix, the regular starters stayed in Surprise
for afternoon workouts after playing Tuesday night. ... The Rangers
will be halfway through their 32-game Cactus League schedule after
playing Thursday.