Jacob Latz Sees Nathan Eovaldi’s Hunger as Example in Rangers Rotation Chase

Jacob Latz is fighting for the fifth spot in the Texas Rangers rotation. It’s a reward for bailing the team out last year when it was dealing with injuries.

Right now, the left-hander is fighting with Kumar Rocker for that last spot. He made his third start of spring training on Saturday against the San Francisco Giants.

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Latz is in a different mindset this year. He’s essentially made the team. If he doesn’t make the rotation, he’ll slide back into the bullpen. He can spend more time fine-tuning than trying to impress. Texas knows what he has. But he sees the perfect example in a Rangers starter known for his relentless pursuit of getting better, even 14 years in his career.

Jacob Latz’s Example

@Rangers LHP Jacob Latz with @OThankKevin and @inthemageors on balancing working on different grips and pitches in spring training while competing for the No. 5 spot in the rotation pic.twitter.com/Mi896fKykG
— 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) March 6, 2026

For Jacob Latz, the perfect example is Nathan Eovaldi. The 36-year-old is in his first 14 Major League season. He’s had two Tommy John surgeries. He has two World Series rings. He’s been an All-Star and was fourth in 2021 AL Cy Young voting. As he told 105.3 The Fan’s “K&C Masterpiece” earlier this week. Eovaldi is the pitcher he looks to for one reason.

“You should never get comfortable in the game,” he said. “I mean of all these players here, the perfect example is Evo [Eovaldi]. He’s hungry even as he gets into Year 14.”

Latz has grinded his way to this point. He was the Rangers fifth-round pick in 2017 out of Kent State, but it took him seven years to get a full-time MLB job, even though he made his MLB debut in 2021. He finally got a foothold with the Rangers in 2024 as a reliever, going 2-3 with a 3.71 ERA in 46 games. He struck out 40 and walked 27 in 43.2 innings. His reward was not making the opening day roster last season.

Like Eovaldi, he remained hungry. He was back a couple of weeks into the season and he turned into a swingman, thanks to an injury to Tyler Mahle. He finished the season with a 2-0 record and a 2.84 ERA in 33 games, with eight starts. He had two holds and claimed a save in his only chance. He struck out 76 and walked 37 in 85.2 innings.

At times, former manager Bruce Bochy said that Latz had the stuff and the temperament to be a full-time starter. It’s part of the reason why Latz has this chance in spring training. He proved he could handle it last season.

Texas has been open-minded about Latz this offseason. The Rangers have resisted herding him in a particular role, in part because Rocker hasn’t taken full hold of the fifth rotation spot. Until one does take hold of it, expect Latz to remain uncomfortable — in a good way.