Quantrill's Leverage Pitching Propels Rangers

0:00It's April 19th. This is MLB News Today, baseball coverage powered by AI. The Texas Rangers doused a bullet by keeping pitcher Cal Quantrell in triple A to open the season. This 31-year-old former first-round pick signed a minor league deal but missed the opening day roster. Instead of releasing or trading him, they stashed him in Round Rock and now it's paying dividends big time. Earlier this week, Texas called him up alongside rookie Gavin Collier after placing two relievers on the 15-day injured list. Quantrell was supposed to be rotation depth, but he's been lights out in the bullpen so far. Against the athletics on Thursday, he jumped into a high-leveraged ninth inning with a three-run lead, not his usual spot, but he was nearly perfect. One hit, no damage, first win of the year locked down. That pushed the Rangers back into first in the AL West. Saturday night versus the Mariners, he entered in the 6th with Texas down 3-1, and the bullpen gas from the night before.

1:00Manager Skipshoe maker let him go deep, throwing 65 pitches over 4 innings. Sure, he gave up 3 runs, but early in the season like game 21 of 162, you need guys to eat innings. Before the promotion, Quantrell earned, Pacific Coast league pitcher of the week, honors with 10 strikeouts in 12 innings, zero walks. Three weeks in, the Rangers looked genius for holding on to him. He's already proving his worth when they need it most.