Rangers Notes: Texas Reaches Deals with Top Four Picks

In his first full season as a starter, Dillon Tate went 8-5 with an earned run average of 2.26 and 111 strikeouts for UC-Santa Barbara this year.

The Rangers have agreed to terms with each of their top four selections from this month’s amateur draft, including right-handed pitcher Dillon Tate, who was officially signed on Jun. 12 and received a bonus of $4.2 million.

Outfielder Eric Jenkins (second round, $2 million), right hander Michael Matuella (third round, $2 million) and right-hander Jake Lemoine (fourth round, $528,000) also agreed to terms on deals with Texas.

Tate, 21, was the first pitcher selected in the draft after shortstops were taken with each of the first three picks, and he has been assigned to the short-season Class-A Spokane Indians.

“I’m really excited and [blessed] to have this go as smoothly as it did,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of work to do and I’m ready to get to work on things. You often hear pitchers talk about fastball command. That’s the first step for me.”

After working out of the bullpen his freshman and sophomore seasons at UCSB, Tate moved into the starting rotation this spring and struck out 111 batters in 103-plus innings pitched.

“You’ve got a guy with a fresh arm, an electric arm and a guy willing to put in the work and ask the right questions to improve,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “No doubt, a definite starter for us.”

Jenkins and Lemoine, meanwhile, were both assigned to the Arizona Summer League Rangers while Matuella was added to the Spokane roster but will stay in North Texas as he recovers from reconstructive Tommy John surgery.

Odor Recalled as DeShields Hits DL

Infielder Rougned Odor was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock last Monday when outfielder Delino DeShields was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, an injury he suffered during the previous day’s loss to Minnesota.

DeShields appeared to strain the hamstring while chasing down an eventual triple by Shane Robinson in the left-center field gap.

On Thursday, right-hander Anthony Ranaudo was called up from Triple-A to make a spot start against the Dodgers, with infielder Kyle Blanks heading to the DL (Achilles tendinitis) in a corresponding roster move.

Ranaudo was optioned back to Round Rock the following day as left-hander Alex Claudio was recalled, and Jake Smolinski was designated for assignment when outfielder Ryan Rua was activated from the 60-day disabled list.

Smolinski, who batted .133 (8-for-60) with 12 runs scored in 35 games for Texas this season, was then claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.

Alfaro Likely Out for Season

Catching prospect Jorge Alfaro will is expected to miss the rest of the year after suffering a “significant left ankle injury”, according to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.

Alfaro, 22, was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 3 prospect in the Rangers’ organization behind infielder/outfielder Joey Gallo and right-handed pitcher Jake Thompson heading into this season.

Grant reports that Alfaro has been wearing a walking boot, and Texas director of player development Mike Daly said “he could be out for some significant time.”

Rangers Notes: Gonzalez Spins Shutout in Second Start

Chi Chi Gonzalez (left) is greeted by catcher Robinson Chirinos after his 4-0 shutout Friday in Kansas City.

Making just his second major-league start, Texas right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez scattered three hits and tossed a complete-game shutout in the Rangers’ 4-0 win over the Royals last Friday at Kauffman Stadium.

Gonzalez, 23, very nearly made the team out of spring training before he was sent to Triple-A for more seasoning, and he has pitched well in each of his first three big-league appearances so far this year.

He required 116 pitches to get through his shutout against Kansas City, and Texas manager Jeff Banister admitted that the decision to send Gonzalez back out to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning was not an easy one.

“This is a young man that’s fresh in the big leagues,” Banister said. “I’m very conscious of where he is. I felt like there was not a lot of stress on any of the innings. I felt he was still in control, the velocity and pitch ability was still there.”

The complete-game shutout thrown by Gonzalez – which was the first by a Rangers rookie since Derek Holland in 2009 – helped Texas move into second place behind Houston in the American League West.

Backed by a seven-inning quality start from southpaw Wandy Rodriguez on Saturday, the Rangers took two out of three games from the Royals over the weekend before losing two of three this week in Oakland.

Nick Martinez gave up just one hit and did not allow a run across his six innings pitched Tuesday, and the Texas bullpen held off a late rally to preserve a 2-1 victory over Sonny Gray and the A’s.

On Wednesday, however, a 10-strikeout performance by Yovani Gallardo went for naught as the bullpen failed to hold a 4-2 lead, with three Texas relievers giving up one run apiece in a 5-4 loss to Oakland.

The Rangers’ relief corps was even worse in a lopsided 7-0 defeat Thursday afternoon, as the trio of Sam Freeman, Jon Edwards and Ross Detwiler combined to allow six earned runs on three hits and three walks in just one inning of work.

Despite losing their series at O.co Coliseum, the Rangers were provided with an opportunity to face Athletics reliever Pat Venditte, a switch-pitcher who logged three and one-third scoreless frames against Texas while throwing both left- and right-handed.

Tate Selected in First Round of Draft

With the No. 4 overall pick in Monday’s first-year player draft (their highest selection since 1986), the Rangers took right-handed pitcher Dillon Tate out of the University of California-Santa Barbara.

Texas chose the 21-year-old Tate after shortstops had been taken with each of the first three picks – Dansby Swanson (Diamondbacks), Alex Bregman (Astros) and Brendan Rodgers (Rockies).

Tate was converted from a closer into a starter last season at UCSB, posting an 8-5 record with 111 strikeouts across 14 starts while relying on an above-average fastball and a sharp breaking slider.

In the second round of the draft Monday night, Texas picked high school outfielder Eric Jenkins at No. 45 overall. Jenkins, who had committed to UNC-Wilmington, projects as a center fielder whose strongest tools are speed and hitting for contact.

Gonzalez, Russell to Join Rangers Hall of Fame

Two-time American League Most Valuable Player Juan Gonzalez and former All-Star reliever Jeff Russell were announced this week as the newest members of the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame.

Gonzalez hit 372 home runs and racked up 1,180 RBIs — both franchise records — during his time in a Rangers uniform (1989-99, 2002-03), winning A.L. MVP awards in both ’96 and ’98 while anchoring the Texas lineup during the club’s first three playoff appearances.

Russell (1985-92, ’95-96) began his Texas career as a starter before he was moved to the bullpen full-time in 1989. He remains the team’s all-time leader with 406 relief appearances and ranks second behind John Wetteland with 134 saves.

The pair will be honored as the 18th and 19th members of the Rangers’ Hall of Fame in a pre-game ceremony July 11 at Globe Life Park.

Texas Activates Blanks, Options Patton

First baseman/outfielder Kyle Blanks was activated from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday while right-hander Spencer Patton was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock in a corresponding roster move.

The Rangers also released left-handed pitcher Mike Kickham – who had been claimed on waivers from Seattle last month – from the Round Rock roster.