Rangers Top 30 Prospect Wraps: Zak Kent

Zak Kent is one of more than a dozen pitchers among the Rangers' Top 30 prospects, and he could be close to a call-up.

InsidetheRangers.com will review each of the Texas Rangers’ Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com at the end of the 2022 season.

No. 25: P Zak Kent, Round Rock Express (Triple-A)

Statistics for 2022: Went 3-4 with a 3.94 ERA in 24 games (all starts). He threw 109 2/3 innings. He gave up 100 hits, 52 runs (48 earned), 13 home runs and 43 walks. He struck out 110. Opponents hit .244 against him and he had a 1.30 WHIP.

Season Transactions: Placed on Frisco’s injured list on April 19. Activated from Frisco’s injured list on April 26. Placed on Frisco’s injured list on June 21. Activated from Frisco’s injured list on July 3. Placed on Frisco’s injured list on Aug. 6. Activated from Frisco’s injured list on Aug. 13. Promoted to Triple-A Round Rock on Aug. 31

Season Summary: Kent worked through minor stints on the injury list to go 2-3 with a 4.68 ERA in Frisco in 19 starts. He struck out 87 and walked 30, giving up a .263 batting average. What’s interesting is that after his promotion to Round Rock, in five starts, his numbers improved. The ERA plummeted to 1.67. Opponents batted just .181 against him and his WHIP fell to 1.11. It’s clear he didn’t struggle with the promotion.

Path Through the Organization: The Rangers selected Kent in the ninth round of the 2019 MLB Draft, but he needed until 2021 to actually get a taste of a full season of minor-league baseball due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of his college experience at VMI, he started in High Class-A Hickory in 2021 and quickly moved up to Double-A Frisco by the end of the 2021.

What’s next: Kent is a possible 2023 call-up. Clearly, his college experience helped him with the transition to pro baseball. He’ll be 25 by opening day of 2023 and, by baseball prospect standards, he’s no spring chicken. Expect him to start in Triple-A with a chance to impress and merit a call-up next season.

2022 Texas Rangers Top 30 Prospect Wraps:

No. 30: Josh Stephan | No. 29: Mason Englert | No. 28: Marc Church | No. 27: Danyer Cueva | No. 26: Alejandro Osuna

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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