Rangers Pitcher Glenn Otto: 'Time To Take That Jump'
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers rookie Glenn Otto’s plans after his final start of the 2022 season were simple — drive to Houston and see his wife.
From there, a short break and then starting to work for 2023.
“It’s time to make that jump,” Otto said, fresh off taking the win in the Texas Rangers’ 4-2 season-finale victory over the New York Yankees.
With the victory, Otto improved his season record to 7-10. It was his eighth quality start of the season, as he threw six innings and gave up two runs.
More importantly, of all of the young pitchers the Rangers started this season, Otto might be the pitcher that can make that "jump" next season. The Rangers need one or two or more young pitchers to do that next season, especially if they are unsuccessful in signing or trading for more front-line pitching.
Interim manager Tony Beasley was pleased with Otto’s recent progress. More than anything, it’s been about changing Otto’s mindset on the mound.
“Coming down the stretch, I think he accepted the fact that he’s got to throw the ball and make hitters do something, trust his defense and try to minimize the walks,” Beasley said.
Otto was creating bad situations for himself, in Beasley’s opinion. One way he was doing that was with walks. In August, for example, Otto allowed 16 walks in five starts, or a rate of 3.2 walks per game.
In September and October, his final seven starts of the year, he gave up eight walks, or a rate of 1.1 per game. His improvement is backed up by his 3-3 record and 3.68 ERA over his last 12 starts, posting a .218 opponent batting average in that span.
“I think he’s recognized that and he’s tried to flip the switch, so to speak, and I feel like he did a really good job,” Beasley said.
Along with the record, Otto finished with a 4.64 ERA. That's a solid rookie season, when you look at the year in full.
He made 27 starts, the most for a Rangers rookie since Yu Darvish had 29 in 2012. His 135 2/3 innings was the most for a Rangers rookie since Nick Martinez threw 140 1/3 innings in 2014. His seven wins were the most for a Rangers rookie starter since Darvish had 16. And, his eight quality starts were not only tied for the third-most for the Rangers, but the most for a Texas rookie since Martinez.
But Otto wants to be more than a serviceable starter. He wants to execute the pitches he needs to execute on demand. He said that he executed about 50 percent of the time this season and believes that if he can raise that up to 60 or even 70 percent, that can allow him to take the next step.
“It’s going to be a lot easier,” Otto said. “I’ll be able to get through those sixth, seventh and eighth innings every time out.”
Reliable, consistent, effective. Those are the watch words for Otto going into 2023. That, and the “jump.”
“As much as I would love for it to happen tomorrow, it’s not like a switch goes off and I’m a 180(-inning) guy that is gonna give you a 2.5 (ERA) and 200-plus strikeouts,” Otto said. “It’s just continuing to, you know, and I’m trying to avoid cliches here, but trust the process.”
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.
