How David Davalillo’s Fantastic Finish Helps Rangers Pitching Plans in 2027

David Davalillo has sat on the Texas Rangers’ 40-man roster all season without an opportunity to pitch in a Major League game.

He’s positioned himself to change that in 2027.

The right-hander made what is likely his penultimate start of the 2026 season on Saturday with the Triple-A Round Rock Express, a terrific outing that should make the Rangers organization feel good about where he is at after a statistically sub-par 2026.

He threw five innings against Salt Lake City, giving up three hits and a walk as he hit a batter and struck out six. He didn’t allow a run.

It’s Nearly David Davalillo Time

David Davalillo dishes in first outing of the season for @RidersBaseball 😤

5.1 IP, 7 K, 0 R pic.twitter.com/gOOyCGfA3X
— Rangers Player Development (@TEXPlayerDev) April 6, 2026

It was the 25-year-old Venezuelan’s second straight five-inning start without allowing a run. On Sept. 6 against Oklahoma City, he allowed one hit and one walks as he gave up six without allowing a run. In his last two starts he’s brought down his ERA from 6.31 to 5.17 for the season at Triple-A.

It’s been a rough season for him after he was named the Nolan Ryan Rangers minor league pitcher of the year in 2025 after he went 6-4 with a 2.44 ERA with 126 strikeouts and 28 walks in 107 innings.

As he enters the Express’ final homestand against Tacoma, he is 2-9 with a 4.62 ERA with 106 strikeouts and 42 walks in 97.1 innings.

It would be more logical if injuries were the issues, but Davalillo has not been on the minor league IL all season. Instead he’s dealt with control issues throughout the season, exemplified by the fact that he’s not only spent time with Round Rock, but also with Double-A Frisco, High-A Hub City and the Arizona Complex Rangers trying to work through those issues.

He went back to Round Rock for good in August and has been up-and-down in terms of performance. In August he made five starts and went 0-2 with a 4.58 ERA. He struck out 16 and walked three in 19.2 innings. He gave up four earned runs in two different outings.

But in September he’s flipped a switch. He’s 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA with 15 strikeouts and three walks in 13.2 innings. He did give up four runs in his first start of the month but none since.

His last two starts could be an encouraging sign for Texas, as they were some hope he could be an option this season. If his control issues are a thing of the past, he could head to Major League spring training next year with a real opportunity to either win a rotation spot or a long relief role on a staff that will likely have some openings.

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