Rangers' Otto Displays Mettle, Maturity In First Bout With Big League Growing Pains

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Glenn Otto faced much more adversity in his second big league start, but showed advanced maturity amid the struggles.

Growing pains have been the theme of this very young Texas Rangers squad in 2021. Through one lens, it can be looked at as an excuse for inexperience. However, nights like Friday night are vital for a player getting his first true taste of the big leagues.

Just about everything went right for Glenn Otto in his big league debut a week ago Friday. He was facing the team he grew up cheering for. He was pitching in his home state. And most importantly, he was electric, pitching five scoreless innings against a potent Houston Astros lineup.

But on this Friday night, an Angels lineup sans Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon challenged him in an entirely new way. In fact, Otto's night could have been over before the first inning concluded. 

It took 37 pitches for Otto to get through the opening frame. The Angels scored two runs in the inning, and made Otto work by fouling off a total of 15 pitches. Otto experienced a bit of bad luck with a couple of weakly-hit balls finding holes in the defense. Manager Chris Woodward confirmed after the Rangers' 3-2 loss to the Angels that if the final batter of the inning reached base, it was going to be the end for the 25-year-old right-hander.

"There was no way we were going to let him go up to 40 pitches in that first inning," Woodward said.

As much as 2021 has been an evaluation year, protecting the health of the players — especially the younger pitchers — has been paramount. Otto did get the final out before the Rangers skipper would have been forced to go to his bullpen, giving him an opportunity to reset and get back to work.

"I love the way he battled back after that," said Woodward. "He settled in and made a lot of quality pitches to get through almost five [innings]. He got up to almost 85 pitches, which was awesome. But I loved to see the bounce back, especially after that first inning ... Overall, he made the adjustments and pitched really well after that."

Otto faced the minimum in the next three innings. Only David Fletcher reached base with a single in the third inning, but that was wiped out after Otto got Shohei Ohtani to ground into a 5-6-3 double play.

The fifth inning came with a bit of adversity as well, including an unlikely error by Isiah Kiner-Falefa that extended the frame. Otto recorded the first two outs, then handed the ball over to the bullpen with two runners on base, where Dennis Santana got out of the jam unscathed.

“After that first inning, I just really wanted to get back in the dugout, and kind of hit the refresh button,” Otto said. “I wanted to go out and start over and get back into attacking the zone. I was able to do that and get the team 3 2/3 more innings. That was big after that first inning. It didn't look great, but I was able to go out and just compete and pitch to my strengths.”

Otto's final line included two runs on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. But this is a perfect example of why the box score doesn't tell the whole story. Traditionally, a pitcher failing to even go five innings seldom impresses fans. However, the fight and grit to bounce back from a very rough first inning — in only his second Major League start — shows mettle and advanced maturity for a young pitcher.

There is obviously still much more room for growth. Even outside of the box score, Otto allowed the Angels to run on him with relative ease, stealing two bases during his outing. But what he was between the ears, along with the stuff on the mound, is a great place to build a foundation.

“He’s a starting pitcher. If he's going to make 30 or something starts a year, he's going to run into adversity,” Woodward said. “Even the great pitchers sometimes they give up a couple of runs, they’ve got to bounce back and continue to pitch. He didn't really seem to be bothered by anything."

What's Next

The Rangers (47-87) and Angels (67-68) continue their four-game series in Anaheim on Saturday night. Kolby Allard (3-11, 5.01 ERA) will take the ball for Texas, and will face off with Angels southpaw José Suarez (5-7, 4.10 ERA).

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