Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, and Cody Bradford have been named the five starting pitchers to begin the 2024 season for the World Series Champion Texas Rangers. As it stands, the Opening Day starting pitcher and the exact rotation have yet to be announced. Many fans are less than thrilled that the club did not resign Jordan Montgomery and that Rangers GM Chris Young has stated that the current group is the group going forward. However, those fans must realize that it is almost the same group that began the 2023 season. Young is correct in his faith in both the pitching staff and the position players. Both groups are absolutely packed with talent and experience. The season is theirs to win or lose.
Starting Rotation By The Numbers
Nathan Eovaldi
Nathan Eovaldi, the hometown boy from Alvin, Texas. A Rangers postseason hero. A two-time World Series Champion and two-time All-Star will lead this season’s starting rotation until the big guns have recovered from their injuries and return to the lineup. In his 12-year career, he has a 79-73 W/L record across 265 games with an ERA of 4.10, with 246 starts, five games finished, four complete games, two shutouts, and no saves. He pitched 1401.2 innings, allowing 1424 hits, 678 runs, 639 of which were earned, 155 home runs, 403 walks, 16 intentional walks, and 1192 strikeouts. So far this spring, Eovaldi has appeared in three games for 9.2 innings. He allowed seven hits and five runs, four of which were earned, no home runs, five walks, ten strikeouts, and an ERA of 3.72. He has a spring W/L record of 1-0.
Jon Gray
Jon Gray will once again grace Globe Life Field with his presence. In his 9-year career, he has a W/L record of 69-64 across 205 games with an ERA of 4.45, 204 starts, one game finished, two complete games, one shutout, and no saves. He pitched 1114 innings, allowing 1084 hits, 587 runs, 551 of which were earned, 144 home runs, 373 walks, 12 intentional walks, and 1125 strikeouts. So far this spring, Gray has appeared in two games for eight innings. He has allowed four hits, no runs or home runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts with an ERA of 0.00 and a spring W/L record of 2-0.
Andrew Heaney
Andrew Heaney stepped up tremendously during the 2023 season when many of the regular starters were injured, keeping the postseason bid alive and earning his spot in this year’s rotation. In his 10-year career, he has a 46-48 W/L record across 171 games with an ERA of 4.49, 154 starts, six games finished, one complete game, and one shutout. He pitched 854.1 innings, allowing 825 hits, 453 runs, 426 of which were earned, 151 home runs, 258 walks, three intentional walks, and 911 strikeouts. So far this spring, Heaney has appeared in three games for ten innings. He has allowed eleven hits, four earned runs, five walks, and twelve strikeouts with an ERA of 3.60 and a spring W/L record of 0-0.
Dane Dunning
Dane Dunning came in clutch during the 2023 postseason in both his starting role and in emergency relief when asked. In his 4-year Major League career, he has a 23-25 W/L record across 98 games with an ERA of 4.16, 87 starts, two games finished, and no saves. He pitched 477.2 innings, allowing 472 hits, 231 runs, 221 of which were earned, 57 home runs, 1173 walks, and 426 strikeouts. So far this spring, Dunning has appeared in three games for six innings. He has allowed seven hits, six earned runs, one home run, two walks, and seven strikeouts, with an ERA of 9.00 and a spring W/L record of 1-1.
Cody Bradford
Cody Bradford is the new kid in the starting rotation, though his youth and lack of experience did not prevent him from contributing significantly in the 2023 postseason. In the first year of his Major League career, he had a 4-3 W/L record across 20 games with an ERA of 5.30, eight starts, five games finished, and no saves. He pitched 56 innings, allowing 56 hits, 33 earned runs, 11 home runs, 12 walks, and 51 strikeouts. So far this spring, Bradford has appeared in five games for sixteen innings. He has allowed 23 hits, nine earned runs, three home runs, five walks, and 13 strikeouts, with an ERA of 3.86 and a spring W/L record of 0-2.
Recap
Though the Texas Rangers will begin the season with three top pitchers down due to injury, the rotation still looks good. These five men will hold down the fort and keep pushing toward the common goal of back-to-back World Series Championships. This is expected to be the starting rotation, though likely not in this particular order, through at least May, if not June, as well. Max Scherzer is expected to rejoin the rotation sometime in June, with Tyler Mahle and Jacob deGrom following suit in July. Carson Coleman is also expected to rejoin the team in August, just in time for the postseason.
