For the past few years there's been a triumvirate of Dominican Republic pitching prospects that have been percolating in the Texas Rangers farm system.
Two of them were on the Fall Stars Team at the Arizona Fall League last year - Emiliano Teodo and Winston Santos. The third, Leandro Lopez, had a rock-solid 2025.
All three of them are on the Rangers ' 40-man roster and all were put there for a specific reason - the Rangers didn't want to lose any of them in the Rule 5 draft last year. That's how much Texas thinks of the three pitchers.
The time may be coming for one of them to finally make his Major League debut. Teodo is on a tear at Triple-A Round Rock and it demands attention.
aTexas Rangers pitcher Emiliano Teodo. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Teodo, a former starting pitching prospect turned reliever, has really turned things up in the last month.
On May 16 against Sacramento, he allowed one run in one inning of work. Since then, Teodo hasn't given up a run. That streak is now up to his last nine appearances on the mound. In that stretch he's pitched nine innings, allowed five hits, struck out struck out nine and walked four. Additionally, he hasn't allowed a hit in his last six outings.
In that span he's trimmed his ERA from 6.27 to 4.23. He is now 2-2 with five holds and three saves in three chances. He's struck out 39 and walked 22 in 27.2 innings while batters are hitting .188 against him.
The international free agent out of the Dominican Republic was once considered one of the Rangers' top starting pitching prospects. He started the first inning of the 2024 Futures Game for the American League and claimed the victory.
But last season the Rangers decided to convert him into a reliever, seeing his electric stuff as an opportunity to develop him into a high leverage arm. Injuries slowed him down and made him look far less effective than he can be. Another injury slowed him down in spring training. But now that arm is gathering steam.
The walk rate is working against Teodo. He's walked nearly as many hitters as innings pitched and that walk rate must come down before the Rangers can call him up. Otherwise, he's limiting contact, forcing swing and miss and showing off the type of arsenal that could make him a high-leverage arm in the Majors one day, perhaps sooner than anyone realizes.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rangers/onsi as Rangers Prized Prospect Emiliano Teodo on Brilliant Run at Round Rock .
