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RRLast week, I profiled Miguel De Los Santos as a sort of darkhorse in making the big-league roster because he is a lefty and the Rangers have a hole in the bullpen.
He's since shit the bed.
So we move to the next candidate, someone that's not only performed well in the spring, but probably had a lot more push to sneak onto the 25-man roster.
I'm very excited because this is a guy that I've loved following since he was drafted in 2008: Robbie Ross.
He's a slight (5-11) left-handed pitcher taken in the second round behind Justin Smoak in a class that could prove pretty underrated (Cody Eppley, Joe Wieland, Mike Bianucci, Justin Miller).
What I liked about Ross is that he was taken out of high school and quickly caught on to professional baseball. Seems like he's smart enough to learn quickly and he advanced accordingly. Even at a faster rate of Wieland and Robbie Erlin, although others have always gotten the headlines and higher rankings.
Despite coming out of high school, Ross has spent just two full seasons in the minors. In 2010, in low- and high-A ball, he posted 111 strikeouts and 37 walks in 146 innings, which included a jump to the hitter-friendly California League.
The next year, Ross posted 134 strikeouts and 33 walks in 161 innings in high-A (one homer allowed in 123 innings in Myrtle Beach) and Double-A (36 Ks/5 BBs/2.61 ERA in Frisco).
Nowhere to go but up. Ross sports a low-90s fastball and a good slider. For the moment, perfect for the bullpen. Can he get lefties out? He didn't have a lot of exposure in Frisco against lefties, facing just 12 although they had a .143 average against him.
Short term, Ross could break into the bullpen. He's tossed three innings this spring with three hits, no runs, no walks and five strikeouts.
Still, I think the Rangers eye him as a starter, and would rather go a different direction to address a left-handed presence in the bullpen. Ross needs more time in the minors to get innings and work on his third pitch (a change-up) and break into the Majors as a starter.
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