Rangers Rising Young Reliever Turns Heads Striking Out MLB Stars in Live BP

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Right around noon on the back fields of the Texas Rangers’ spring training facility is where the action is — live batting practice.

Once the position players report and get settled, the matchups between hitters and pitchers ramp up. On Monday 11 different Rangers pitchers threw some live batting practice. Right now, it’s no more than 20 pitchers against four or five hitters. The idea is to emulate live game action. It’s a chance for young pitchers to prove themselves to teammates and coaches.

It was in this context that Rangers manager Skip Schumaker watched right-hander Gavin Collyer throw his live BP. He watched from behind the cage as the 24-year-old Collyer struck out Mark Canha and Ezequiel Duran back-to-back.

Schumaker has sung Collyer’s praises before. He did so again on Tuesday.

“He has as good a stuff as anyone in the Majors,” Schumaker said. “It’s hard to catch up to mid-90s with spin.”

Gavin Collyer’s Bullpen Path

Gavin Collyer, one of the more buzzed-about young relievers in camp, strikes out Mark Canha here in Surprise. pic.twitter.com/tQrBVy76YW
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) February 16, 2026

Collyer has been in the Rangers’ system for a long time. He was their 12th round of the 2019 MLB draft out of Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, Ga. He’s played six years of pro baseball. He spent half of last season at Triple-A Round Rock. He’s knocking on the door. Once considered a starting pitching prospect, he’s now a full-time reliever.

Last season he received plenty of chances at Double-A Frisco and Round Rock. He went 5-6 with a 4.40 ERA. He had eight holds and eight saves in 16 chances. Batters hit .221 against him. He was given high-leverage chances and he produced.

Earlier this year, Baseball America (subscription required) pointed out a metric that showed Collyer’s progress — Stuff +. The analytic measures the quality of a pitcher’s arsenal. Collyer had the highest Stuff+ score of any minor league pitcher that threw at least 1,000 pitches in 2025 at 124.

It wasn’t hard to see why Collyer managed that sort of grade. He struck out Duran on an off-speed pitch that broke away from the right-handed hitter and forced him to chase. With Canha, the payoff pitch was a fastball that the 37-year-old couldn’t catch.

Schumaker called Collyer’s delivery “funky” and his arm slot “unique,” saying those things can throw off hitters. He was impressed with a cutter that hit 94 mph, a 90 mph slider and a fastball that can average 97 mph. The stuff isn’t the issue. The consistency is. The emphasis with Collyer this offseason is filling the zone consistently. He did that on Monday.

“Now, can he do it again?” Schumaker said. “Can then can he do it again? Right? That’s the consistency of a big leaguer is filling up the strike zone over and over again.”

The bullpen is not set in stone, not this early in camp. Schumaker said on Monday that he could see plenty of competition and that roles aren’t set in stone. About the only thing he’s committed to is using Robert Garcia and Chris Martin in save situations to start the season. But that’s a fluid situation, too.

The traditional baseball numbers don’t lead one to believe that he’ll make the Majors. His Stuff+ score, combined with his performance on Monday, could make Collyer a surprise bullpen candidate come opening day.

Gavin Collyer’s Bullpen Path

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