Texas
Adding Manager Bruce Bochy And Three New Starting Pitchers Greatly Improves The Texas Rangers
Since final season, the Texas Rangers have elevated their group payroll from $146M to $197M.
This previous season, Texas completed 4th within the American League West division. Their document of 68-94 left them a whopping 38 video games behind the division profitable, World Champion Houston Astros.
With the hope of closing their big hole within the AL West, the Rangers have made some excellent personnel additions to their franchise.
To this scout, the perfect, and most consequential addition was the hiring of recent supervisor Bruce Bochy.
Bochy, now 67, has received three World Championships. He guided the San Francisco Giants to World Collection victories in 2010, 2012, and 2014.
Bochy is an incredible handler of a pitching employees. It’s no coincidence that a few of the recreation’s higher pitchers have discovered their technique to Arlington to pitch for Bochy.
Latest Rangers Participant Acquisitions:
The Rangers started their roster “facelift” previous to the 2022 season.
In 2022, the Rangers gave free agent shortstop Corey Seager a 10-year, $325M contract.
From that very same free agent class, Texas added infielder Marcus Semien for 7-years, at $175M.
The Rangers additionally signed pitcher Jon Grey to a 4-year, $56M deal in 2022.
These three additions started the group’s transformation.
One of many weakest elements of the Rangers roster has been their beginning pitching.
That weak point might be one of many major causes the Rangers focused Bochy as their new supervisor.
The Rangers are attempting to repair a pitching employees that completed with a 4.22 Earned Run Common. Solely Kansas Metropolis, Boston and Oakland have been worse within the American League.
The 743 runs yielded by Texas pitchers positioned them twelfth of 15 American League groups in yielding runs.
Rangers pitchers walked 581 hitters. Solely the Royals have been worse, at 589.
Bruce Bochy and his employees of pitching coaches have exhausting work forward.
Including All Star right-handed beginning pitcher Jacob deGrom, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and lefty Andrew Heaney to their rotation instantly upgraded their employees. The group additionally retained lefty Martin Perez, who might have departed as a free agent.
The Rangers present offseason spending so far contains the next:
Jacob deGrom-(Age 34) 5-years, $185M
Nathan Eovaldi-(Age 32) 2-years, $34M
Andrew Heaney-(Age 31) 2-years, $25M
Martin Perez-(Age 31) 1-year, $19.65M
The fifth starter is holdover Jon Grey, who signed his 4-year deal in 2022.
Starter No. 1-Jacob deGrom
Proper-hander Jacob deGrom is a big, 6-4 presence on the mound.
Coming into his tenth huge league season, deGrom has pitched his whole profession with the New York Mets.
A former ninth spherical Mets choice within the 2010 draft, deGrom has been an All Star 4 instances, most not too long ago within the 2021 season.
Final yr for the Mets, deGrom went 5-4, with a 3.08 ERA and 0.74 WHIP in 11 begins.
Lacking time up to now two years with forearm, elbow and proper shoulder points, the Rangers assume some danger that his arm, elbow and shoulder points may return.
If deGrom stays wholesome, the rewards awaiting the Rangers for the religion they place of their new ace might be substantial.
Seen as among the best starters in baseball, a wholesome deGrom drastically improves the Rangers rotation.
Starter No. 2- Martin Perez
Left-hander Martin Perez might declare the second spot within the revamped Rangers rotation.
At 6-0, 200 kilos, Perez is a bit undersized in comparison with a lot of right now’s beginning pitchers.
Starting his twelfth huge league season, Perez was a global free agent signed by the Rangers out of Venezuela in 2007. He was given a $580,000 signing bonus.
Perez pitched for the Rangers from 2012 till he turned a free agent in 2019. He signed with the Minnesota Twins, and pitched solely as soon as season, 2019, for Minnesota. Perez then signed with the Boston Crimson Sox as a free agent, the place he pitched for 2 seasons.
Perez returned to the Rangers as a free agent final season, making the American League All Star group, and ending with a 12-8 document. He threw 196.1 innings in 32 begins. Perez had a glowing 2.89 ERA, which helped earn him a $19.65M Qualifying Provide from Texas, which he accepted.
Starter No. 3- Jon Grey
Proper-hander Jon Grey was a 1st spherical choose of the Colorado Rockies within the 2013 draft.
The third general choose in that draft, the Rockies gave Grey a signing bonus of $4.8M.
Grey pitched seven seasons for Colorado. He signed a free agent contract with the Rangers final December.
Grey completed final season with a 7-7 document in his 24 Rangers begins. He threw to a 3.96 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.
With good command and management, Grey was among the many High 10 amongst Nationwide League pitchers in strikeouts in each 2016 and 2018. Final season, he struck out a mean of 9.5 per 9 innings.
Grey walked 39 hitters final yr for Texas, which was amongst his profession finest.
Starter No. 4- Nathan Eovaldi
The Rangers have signed right-hander Nathan Eovaldi as a free agent. Eovaldi spent the final 5 seasons of his 11-year MLB profession with the Boston Crimson Sox.
Eovaldi was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers within the eleventh spherical in 2008.
A two-time recipient of Tommy John surgical procedure, there’s at all times some danger with Eovaldi. Nevertheless, he has managed to begin 32 video games in 2021 and 20 video games for the Crimson Sox final season.
Eovaldi completed final yr with a 6-3 document, a 3.87 ERA, and 1.23 WHIP for Boston. He struck out 8.5 hitters per 9 innings, and walked solely 20 the complete season.
Eovaldi did give up 21 residence runs in his 109.1 innings pitched final yr, and that’s one thing that Bruce Bochy and his employees shall be making an attempt to right.
Starter No. 5- Andrew Heaney
Left-hander Andrew Heaney offers the Rangers a second lefty of their rotation.
The Miami Marlins drafted Heaney within the 1st spherical in 2012 out of Oklahoma State College.
Because the ninth participant chosen general, he was given a $2.8M signing bonus.
Heaney was traded by the Marlins to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014. Then on the identical day, the Dodgers traded Heaney to the Los Angeles Angels.
The Angels traded Heaney to the New York Yankees in July 2021.
After changing into a free agent, Heaney signed again with the Dodgers in 2021, the place he pitched final season.
Final yr with the Dodgers, Heaney began 14 video games, labored in aid in two video games, and completed with a document of 4-4 in 72.2 innings pitched.
Heaney threw to a wonderful 3.10 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. He struck out 13.6 hitters per 9 innings pitched.
Now, the Rangers have signed the a lot traveled Heaney to work of their rotation.
Within the occasion any of their pitchers is injured or is ineffective, veteran right-hander Jake Odorizzi is the scheduled long-man within the Rangers bullpen. He can assume a task within the rotation, if wanted.
Abstract:
Underneath new supervisor Bruce Bochy, the Texas Rangers beginning rotation might be a lot improved.
Signing high-profile starters Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, and Andrew Heaney has helped make the Rangers beginning rotation far more credible and aggressive.
With a payroll that’s already $51M above final yr, at an estimated $197M, Rangers possession is hoping the group returns to being aggressive within the American League West.
Texas
Former Colorado defensive end Dayon Hayes transfers to Texas A&M
Former Colorado Buffaloes defensive end Dayon Hayes is set to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M after transferring following a season-ending injury. Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defender, began his journey at Pitt, where he played from 2020 to 2023, accumulating 13 sacks and 80 tackles over four seasons.
At Pitt, Hayes showcased his potential in his sophomore and junior years, logging around 500 combined snaps and producing 30 pressures. His breakout came in 2023 when he amassed 44 pressures and a 13% pass rush win rate, ranking 12th in the ACC. Hayes also demonstrated solid run defense, posting an average tackle depth of 1.6 yards and recording 10.5 stops for loss. His ability to set the edge and prevent runners from escaping outside made him a critical piece of Pitt’s defense.
Following his success at Pitt, Hayes transferred to Colorado as a highly sought-after addition to Deion Sanders’ revamped Buffaloes roster. He made an immediate impact, registering two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in Colorado’s first three games. However, his promising start was cut short by a knee injury in the fourth game, sidelining him for the rest of the season.
Deion Sanders says he won’t attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay
Despite the setback, Hayes’ strong early performance likely earned him a medical redshirt, granting him another year of eligibility. With his final collegiate season on the horizon, Hayes opted to join Texas A&M, bringing his pass-rushing skills to the SEC. The Aggies, coming off an eight-win season, are set to face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hayes’ ability to pressure quarterbacks and defend the run should bolster Texas A&M’s defensive front, adding experience and depth to their edge rotation for the 2024 season.
Texas
D-FW can claim Texas’ best high school football team in an otherwise down year for Dallas
ARLINGTON — North Crowley showed out on Saturday in its dazzling 50-21 victory over Austin Westlake in the 6A Division I state title game, winning the program’s second state championship and putting Fort Worth high school football on the map in front of 36,120 fans at AT&T Stadium.
Until North Crowley took the field at 7:30 p.m., there was a possibility the Dallas-Fort Worth area might boast only one state champion in 2024. Celina routed Kilgore 55-21 in the 4A Division I state championship to capture the program’s ninth state title and its first under coach Bill Elliott.
But North Texas teams came up short in the next three title games, the region’s worst showing at state since 2021, when South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD school to win a recognized state championship since 1958, but Denton Guyer and Duncanville fell in the 6A state championship games.
Two-time state champion South Oak Cliff missed a last-second field goal, falling 38-35 to third-year program Richmond Randle in the 5A Division II state title game Friday night. It was SOC’s second straight loss in the state championship game.
“The future is still bright,” South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd said. “We just gotta find out what’s going to get us over this hump.”
Smithson Valley, from the San Antonio area, topped Highland Park 32-20 as the six-time state champion faded in the second half of the 5A Division I state title game Saturday afternoon.
In the second game of the day, eight-time state champion Southlake Carroll extended its title drought to 13 years with a 24-17 loss to Austin Vandegrift in the 6A Division II game.
“It’ll happen one day. I’m excited about what the future holds,” said Carroll coach Riley Dodge, who fell to 0-2 in state title games as a coach.
The Dallas area claimed three football state champions in 2023 with Anna winning the 4A Division I state title and Duncanville and DeSoto sweeping the 6A Division I and II state championships, respectively. The southern Dallas County schools also swept the 6A state championships in 2022, when South Oak Cliff won its second straight 5A Division II state title.
But this year, the rest of Texas didn’t let the Dallas area, a high school football mecca, run the table. Teams from each of the state’s major metros — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio —- won a title in each division of the UIL’s two highest classifications.
Even before this week’s state championship games, 2024 seemed to mark a changing of the guard. Neither Duncanville, DeSoto nor Houston-area power Galena Park North Shore made it to AT&T Stadium this year. Nor did 12-time UIL state champion Aledo, the juggernaut west of Fort Worth that had won the last two 5A Division I state championships.
But North Crowley did, after knocking off both DeSoto and Duncanville this season. North Texas might not have dominated the competition as it has in recent years, but for a third straight season, the king of 6A reigns in Dallas-Fort Worth.
“When you get to this point, there’s only one team that’s standing that’s hoisting the trophy. And fortunately for us, this year it’s us and we just happen to be from 817,” North Crowley coach Ray Gates said. “We’re elated to be able to bring that type of recognition back to our community, just to let people know that when you talk about this area, when you talk about Metroplex football, you can’t forget about us.”
On Twitter/X: @t_myah
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Texas
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