Mike Minor, Jonathan Hernandez Impress in Rangers Split Squad Games
The Rangers played two games in Arizona as part of a split squad day. One squad hosted the Arizona Diamondbacks at their home stadium in Surprise, while sending the other to Sloan Park to take on the Chicago Cubs.
In Surprise, the Rangers fell by a score of 11-9 to the Diamondbacks. Since wins and losses don't really matter in spring training, let's focus on what does matter – and that's the well-being of the Rangers pitching staff. After all, the Rangers are going to go as far as the rotation is going to take them.
Rangers starter Mike Minor made his spring debut in the game and reminded us all why he was an All-Star and Cy Young candidate in 2019. Minor threw three no-hit innings against the Diamondbacks. He allowed no runs, issued two walks, and struck out two batters in his first Cactus League action of 2020. He was the last of the Rangers projected starters to make their spring appearances after nursing a very minor hamstring issue a couple weeks ago.
Minor obviously looked sharp in his first action of the spring. He was able to utilize his pitches well and get through the Arizona lineup that included some of their "A" players like Kole Calhoun, Stephen Vogt, and Jake Lamb.
Over in Mesa at Sloan Park, the Rangers defeated the Cubs 5-0. Rangers starter-turned-reliever Jonathan Hernandez started the game for the Rangers. While he didn't throw a spring no-hitter like Minor, he was still very impressive.
Hernandez threw three innings, allowed two hits, no runs, walked one, and struck out four batters. His stuff was electric, including his two-seam fastball consistently hitting the upper-90's. Hernandez faced the likes of Kris Bryant, Ian Happ, Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras, and Jason Heyward from Chicago's starting lineup.
Hernandez is fighting for a spot in the Rangers bullpen. His previous status as a starter gives Hernandez a bit of a leg up on the competition, given his versatility to pitch in a variety of roles out of the bullpen. Performances like his today should open a lot of eyes with the Rangers' coaching staff and fans alike. If you don't know the name of Jonathan Hernandez, you may need to get acclimated to it now.
The Rangers key strength going into the season is obviously the starting rotation. The bullpen has a lot of unknowns, but it also has a lot of talent. If Chris Woodward and his staff can tap into the potential of some of these unknowns, the Rangers could sneak up on some people. Woodward even compared the like of the Rangers bullpen to what Tampa Bay has done with theirs recently.
It is just spring training, but with everything you want to see from pitchers like Minor and Hernandez, those things were on display today.
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