After Long Wait, Payano Emerging For Rangers

Considering he was part of the Rangers’ 2011 international class that included Rougned Odor, Nomar Mazara, Yohander Mendez, Ronald Guzman and the now-departed Leonys Martin, perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that Pedro Payano has gotten overlooked.

He’s trying to make sure that doesn’t persist, even while pitching for a low Class A Hickory team that includes 2015 No. 4 overall pick Dillon Tate and rehabbing righthander Michael Matuella, the organization’s No. 10 prospect.

It’s easy to see why Payano, 21, would go unnoticed. The Rangers have a deep and talented farm system, ranking seventh entering 2016, even after sending three top-10 prospects to the Phillies for Cole Hamels.

“Quite frankly, when he came up to Hickory, he was an unknown for me too,” said Rangers minor league field director Corey Ragsdale, who managed Payano last season at Hickory. “The numbers were good for him in the past, and when he came up to us—and we had a really good staff—he fit right in with them.

“If you sit behind the plate, he’s not going to light up the radar gun. But the pitchability’s there. He can throw it where he wants to and has feel to pitch.”

The Rangers signed Payano out of Ivan Noboa’s program—which is where Mazara came from—for $650,000. Just 16 when he signed, Payano was born in New York but he grew up in the Dominican Republic and he spent parts of four seasons in the DSL. That’s part of the reason he got overlooked, but he hasn’t been overlooked by the Rangers, Hickory pitching coach Jose Jaimes said.

“He’s one of the priority guys in the organization,” Jaimes said.

Ragsdale agreed, and said the organization’s deep reserve helped keep Payano under the radar.

“We’re very fortunate … that we have a deep organization, guys like (Luis) Ortiz, Tate, Mendez. In another organization, he’s a top-end guy for sure.”

Jaimes coached Payano in the DSL in 2013, where Payano was 5-5, 3.14 with 56 strikeouts and 11 walks.

“He was OK,” Jaimes said. “He just needed some time to mature, but he put the work and effort in. He was a young kid, so he just needed some time.”

Ragsdale agreed.

“I think he did kind of mature a little bit,” he said. “But he does work hard and I have seen zero problems out of him. Really sometimes it takes kids a while to see what’s really important.”

Payano was thin when he signed at around 6-foot-2, 160 pounds, but he’s gotten bigger and stronger, Jaimes said, putting on good weight, enabling him to hold his velocity well. That was evident on Wednesday, when Payano pitched a complete-game one-hitter, striking out 11 and walking just two. Payano’s fastball sat 92-93 mph and touched 94, Jaimes said.

“The same stuff he had from the start of that game he had at the end,” Jaimes said.

Payano can throw strikes with all four of his pitches. He throws a curveball and is developing a cutter, but the changeup is the clear best secondary pitch.

“The thing that makes the changeup good is he keeps the same arm speed and hand speed,” Jaimes said. “It looks like a good fastball, but it has good depth action and good down action.”

Whatever he throws, it’s been effective. He’s dominating this year as he repeats low Class A, leading the South Atlantic League in ERA (0.38) and opponents’ average (.089), and ranking among the leaders in strikeouts (27 in 24 innings), WHIP, complete games and shutouts.

If he keeps that up, he won’t be leading the SAL much longer, because he won’t be there much longer.

“I absolutely think he can handle (high Class A) High Desert,” Ragsdale said. “We wanted to make sure he’s ready to go, and he has a couple of things still to handle. But I have no doubt he can go up there and do well.”