Rangers Spring Training Preview: Cole Winn

The first-round pick had a bit of a setback in 2022, but Cole Winn hopes to prove he's worth an Opening-Day roster spot in 2023.

InsidetheRangers.com previews every player on the Texas Rangers 40-man roster heading into Spring Training in Surprise, Arizona.

P Cole Winn

In 2022: Last season was a rough season for Winn, a player some anticipated might make his Rangers debut in 2022. It never materialized. While he had a winning record as a starter for the second straight season, everything else seemed out of alignment. His ERA jumped four points from 2021, when it was 2.41. He gave up 70 more runs than a season ago. Perhaps most worrisome is that his opponent batting average leapt by more than 100 points. It was .146 the previous season. He just wasn’t able to make the next step. So he spent all season at Triple-A Round Rock.

Winn went 9-8 with a 6.51 ERA in 28 games (all starts). He pitched 121 2/3 innings. He gave up 125 hits, 94 runs (88 earned), 13 home runs and 87 walks. He struck out 123. He allowed batters to hit .265 and he had a 1.74 WHIP.

The Rangers moved him to the 40-man roster in November in an effort to protect him from the Rule V Draft.

Winn’s Career at a Glance: The Rangers paid Winn $3.15 million when they made the high-schooler the No. 15 pick in the 2018 MLB Draft. By that point he was already named the Gatorade Player of the Year in two different states. He didn’t pitch professionally until 2019 and he earned his league’s pitcher of the year honors while with Frisco in 2021.

Contract Status: Winn has not made his MLB debut, so his service time has not begun.

In Surprise: For now, Winn’s pathway to the starting rotation is seemingly blocked. There’s the return of Jon Gray, the re-signing of Martín Pérez and the acquisition of four veteran starting pitchers — Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, Jake Odorizzi and Nathan Eovaldi. The Rangers have made a commitment to competing now, and Winn doesn’t fit into that. Now, that doesn’t mean the Rangers don’t want improvement. He could be a starter on deck if one of the veterans gets hurt. He could be good enough to earn a long relief role with the Rangers. He also could end up at Triple-A again, with a goal of improving his ERA from a season ago. Three of the veterans on the staff could be gone next season. Winn has a year to prove one of those spots should be his.

2023 Texas Rangers 40-Man Spring Training Previews:

Joe Barlow | John King | Dane Dunning | Brett Martin | Jake Odorizzi | Yerry Rodriguez | Owen White | Cole Ragans | Andrew Heaney | Glenn Otto | Josh Sborz | Ricky Vanasco |

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