Texas Rangers CEO, Nolan Ryan, predicts improvement in new starting pitchers
Nolan Ryan may have been the Texas Rangers’ best pitcher in retrospect but he thinks the current flock of starters are looking crisp on their path to becoming cemented starters for the club that he now heads as a CEO and President. The Club Head spoke to the press on Monday, October 24, from the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, concerning his belief and impression of the current hurlers in the line up. He talked about the Rangers’ depth and the players developing under the current regime.
Derek Holland has been impressive all year around and his recent 8 1/3 innings of pitching in Game 4 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, provided the necessary proof that he is a starter many hitters will come to fear in the coming years, He has been fantastic and his earning runs average of 3.95 in the regular season tells a tale of a rising star. He was 16 – 5 during the season. However he is not the only star of the pack.
Alexi Ogando is currently a bullpen reliever but his 13 – 8 standing with an earning runs average of 3.51 speak volumes. Matt Harrison is the third striker with a 14 – 9 standing and an earning runs average of 3.39 from the regular season. All three men are up for improvement and Ryan feels it.
"I really think that they're at the stage of their career that they're going to grow into being even more effective pitchers - I really do," Ryan said. "I believe they'll be more efficient with their pitches. I think they'll have a better feel with their secondary pitches and locating their fastballs. I'm very optimistic that those guys will be better pitchers next year than they were this year."
The President went on to talk about Holland, who rounded Game 4 with a 4 – 0 victory.
"When you look at Derek's performance [Sunday] night, I truly believe that's the biggest game of his career and it's the biggest game of our organization," Ryan said.
The former Hall of Fame pitcher went on to say that Holland took the right steps in Game 4 and that says a lot about his development as an adult player. Ryan went on to affirm that he thinks there is a lot more growing and developing to happen with Holland in the coming seasons.
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