Takeaways: 'Zeke' Making Mark With Rangers

Ezekiel Duran is ready to stay in Arlington and other takeaways from the Rangers' series split at Detroit

The Texas Rangers split their four-games series with the Detroit Tigers after Sunday’s 7-3 loss in the Motor City. Here are three takeaways from the series.

Rangers Have a ‘Zeke’ To Build Around

Ezequiel Duran has shown since he arrived at the start of June that he belongs in the Majors. Now, that doesn’t mean that the 23-year-old infielder isn’t going to have the inevitable rookie ups and downs. But it’s clear that Duran is going to fight hard to make sure the Rangers don’t send him back to the minors.

Naturally, the thing that sticks out from this series was Duran’s game-winning triple on Thursday night. It was a tremendous piece of hitting. But, the Rangers knew he could hit based his work at Frisco this season (.317/.365/.574/.939, seven home runs, 31 RBI). What the Rangers really need to know is if he can play out of position in the Majors. He’s starting to show he can.

Just as important as the game-winning hit was that slick piece of fielding earlier in the game at third base. Duran fielded a sharp grounder down the line backhanded and threw to first with his body on the other side of the foul line to get the out. Duran needs to continue to prove he can be a consistent defender on the line. His future on this team is not at his natural middle-infield position. Second base (Marcus Semien) and shortstop (Corey Seager) are taken, and if the Rangers have their way, they’ll be taken for the next seven seasons, at least.

The Rangers do have a need for a future third baseman. Of course, the Rangers DO have a future third baseman in Josh Jung. But he can’t seem to stay healthy. I’m not sure Duran is going to make the Rangers forget about Jung. But the Rangers don’t have any issue with Duran making the spot competitive.

By the way, the Rangers are also letting Duran gets some reps in the outfield during batting practice. Remember — you want your best players on the field, and Duran is turning into one of those players. And, there’s a certain left fielder that may not be back in 2023.

Rangers Have a 1-2 Rotation Punch

The inconsistency of Taylor Hearn can be a bit maddening. Dane Dunning seems to always have good stuff but ends up being a hard-luck loser. Glenn Otto is crafty and young, and giving the Rangers quality innings.

The Rangers envisioned Jon Gray as their ace to start the season. But they didn’t quite envision a 1A in Martín Pérez.

Pérez came out of the gate and pitched his best baseball in years through the end of May, earning American League Pitcher of the Month honors. Aside from the 4-2 record and that microscopic ERA (2.10), he’s getting into the sixth and seventh innings with regularity.

Gray is just 2-3 with a 4.27 ERA, but injuries kept him from getting off to a better start. But since he recovered — and took that knee brace off a few weeks ago — the Rangers are seeing the Gray they signed up for.

His work on Friday night was as sterling as it gets for a Rangers pitcher this season, per the Rangers PR department:

Jon Gray's start tonight (7.0 SHO IP) was his longest scoreless outing since 8/16/19 vs. MIA w/ COL (8.0 SHO IP). He joins Martín Pérez (3x) as the only Texas pitchers with starts of 7.0+ SHO IP this season.

— Texas Rangers PR (@TXRangersPR) June 18, 2022

Gray’s record should get better. So should that ERA. Pérez’s might start to go up a bit eventually, but there’s a good chance both pitchers could win at least 10 games and have an ERA in the neighborhood of 3-3.50 by season’s end.

What’s most important now is the consistency, and that’s a good reason to believe the Rangers have a chance to win both games against Philadelphia this week. Pérez pitches on Tuesday and Gray pitches on Wednesday.

Pitching Staff Decision Time

The Rangers had to make a decision after Sunday's game. Per MLB rules, Texas had to be down to 13 pitchers by 11 a.m. CT on Monday, which is an off day for the Rangers.

The Rangers had 14 pitches on the active roster going into Sunday's game. The Rangers also have a starter, Glenn Otto, on the COVID-19 injured list. Otto doesn't appear to be ready to return, so the Rangers only needed to make one move, so it made sense that it would come in the bullpen. 

The Rangers made that decision shortly after Sunday's loss to Detroit, sending down Jesus Tinoco, who was called up during the Cleveland road trip as an additional player for the Rangers' doubleheader. He stuck with the team and pitched well, though Detroit roughed him up for three runs on Saturday.

That means, at least for now, the Rangers are going to give José Leclerc a longer look after two years of inactivity due to shoulder issues and Tommy John surgery. Leclerc returned on Saturday and gave up three runs in one inning of work. 

---

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.