Rangers Rotation Depth Stashed in Minor Leagues Wins PCL Award

The Texas Rangers made a notable free agent signing this offseason as a way of building depth for its starting rotation. So far, Cal Quantrill is paying off nicely with Triple-A Round Rock.

Quantrill was named the Pacific Coast League pitcher of the week for his performance last week with the Express. He threw 69 pitches in seven innings, retiring the first 12 hitters he faced and giving up one run on a solo home run by Jack Suwinski.

He is the first Express pitcher to win the award since right-hander Trey Supak for the week of Sept. 1-7, 2025. It also speaks to how well the Rangers scouted Quantrill before signing him to a minor league deal in the offseason.

Cal Quantrill’s Hot Start

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Cal Quantrill throws a baseball. — Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Cal Quantrill. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Quantrill has pitched great since the Triple-A season began. He’s started two games and has 10 strikeouts and no walks in 12 innings pitched. It’s longest active streak without a walk in pro baseball, including the Majors.

He played for two different teams last season, but he also signed with Texas as a minor leaguer in September and gave the Rangers a taste of what he could do as he went 1-0 record and a 1.64 ERA in two starts. He signed with Texas in January, but shortly after he signed the Rangers also traded for left-hander MacKenzie Gore, who cut off the final spot in the rotation. That didn’t stop Quantrill from impressing the Rangers to the point where they felt they had to stash him away in Round Rock to keep him on stand-by if there is an injury.

Texas used eight starting pitchers last season, along with two relievers who served as openers. President of baseball operations Chris Young estimated in the offseason Texas would probably need eight starters this season. So, hanging onto Quantrill is imperative for organizational depth.

He wasn’t in spring training for the entire camp as he pitched for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. In his one start he earned a win against Cuba, as he gave up an unearned run in five innings as Canada got out of pool play for the first time.

Quantrill is the son of former major league pitcher Paul Quantrill. Drafted in the first round of the 2016 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres, the former Stanford product made his MLB debut in 2019 with the Padres, as he went 6-8 with a 5.16 ERA in 23 games, including 18 starts.

San Diego traded him to Cleveland in 2020, where he emerged as one of their best starters in 2022. That season he went 15-5 with a 3.38 ERA in 32 starts.

From that point, he bounced around the Majors, pitching with Cleveland in 2023, Colorado in 2024 and splitting last season with Miami and Atlanta. He has a career Major League record of 47-46 with a 4.35 ERA.