Inside The Rangers

Texas Rangers Rising Homegrown Prospect Could be Closer of Future

The Texas Rangers have been developing a young pitcher that could end up being their next homegrown closer.

Cameron Zunkel

Feb 19, 2025; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Marc Church (68) poses for a photo during Media Day at Surprise Stadium.
Feb 19, 2025; Surprise, AZ, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Marc Church (68) poses for a photo during Media Day at Surprise Stadium. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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The Texas Rangers are still some cuts away from finalizing their 26-man roster for opening day.

One of their top prospects has a great chance to not only make the opening day roster, but become the late-inning reliever the Rangers desperately need.

Marc Church is still hanging around in big league spring training, so Texas is giving him a long, hard look before making the final decision.

In spring training, Church has thrown seven innings, struck out 10 batters, allowed just four hits, and walked only two. However, the right-hander has allowed four runs in those seven innings giving him an ERA over 5.00. It is a small sample size, so there is not a lot of reason for concern there.

MLB.com took a look at prospects that are still battling for an opening day roster spot. Church is one of those players thanks to what he has shown so far in camp.

The 23-year-old has one of the more explosive arms in the Rangers farms system. According to scouts at MLB.com, his fastball sits in the mid to upper-90s with a lot of carry through the zone. Additionally, he has a 70-grade slider, which is extremely elite while his new splitter is already a 60-grade pitch.

In the minor leagues last season, Church threw 25.2 innings, allowed 24 hits, struck out 29 batters and walked 10. 22.1 of those innings came in Triple-A, so he is very close to becoming a full-time Major League reliever.

The former 18th-round pick has the stuff to become dominant at the Major League level. But in his three save opportunities last season in the minors, Church only converted one time.

The good news is the Rangers have their closer pretty much set. Chris Martin has been good for a few years now, and he should be expected to close games for Texas in 2025. Church will not have to worry about trying to save games for the time being.

In a mid-inning relief role, or even some late-inning chances, Church has the arsenal to get plenty of good hitters out. He has been able to prove that a little bit in spring training.

Needless to say, there is a lot of hype surrounding the Georgia native. Even with Martin gearing up to close games, Texas does not have anybody with real closing experience.

With that said, a good year out of Church could catapult him into that role sooner rather than later.

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Cameron Zunkel
CAMERON ZUNKEL

Cameron Zunkel is a sports writer from the western suburbs of Chicago. He played Division-II baseball at the University of Illinois at Springfield where he earned a masters degree in Communication. Cameron also played independent league baseball for the Joliet Slammers and Schaumburg Boomers of the Frontier League. He has been in journalism for the better part of two years now, and has a passion for baseball specifically. His other work includes writing sports betting articles for ClutchPoints. In his free time, you can catch Cam at the gym, on the golf course, or coaching the youth in the beautiful sport of baseball.

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