Rangers' Cole Winn Finds A Home In Bullpen

The way things were trending the past two seasons, 24-year-old righthander Cole Winn appeared to be permanently on the outside of the Rangers’ pitching plans.

His relationship with the strike zone was on the rocks, so much so that the Rangers transitioned their 2018 first-round pick to the bullpen. He had some success there in 2023 and to start 2024.

Then, the Rangers needed a reliever, and they needed someone who was on the 40-man roster. Winn was only a short flight away at Triple-A Round Rock the night of April 13, when he received his first callup to the major leagues.

He debuted the next day at Houston, retiring all five batters he faced and ultimately opening his MLB career with seven scoreless innings.

As the best hitters do, they figured out Winn. He was optioned back to Round Rock in May with one thing to work on: Stop throwing so many strikes.

“If you had told me last year at this time I was throwing too many strikes, I think I might have chosen some different words,” Winn said. “It was just more so expanding the zone with two strikes. Up there, the hitters are really good, and they’ll make you pay for mistakes you make.”

Winn had a second stint with the Rangers, but this one lasted just a week in mid June before he was placed on the 60-day injured list with a shoulder sprain.

He had pitched to a 7.79 ERA in 17.1 big league innings, but his Triple-A numbers were more encouraging. In 15.2 innings, he struck out 20 and walked four while collecting two saves.

Winn throws hard, with his fastball peaking at 97 mph, and he is trying to perfect a splitter on the advice of veteran righthanders Nathan Eovaldi and Kirby Yates. He also mixes in a breaking ball and a changeup.

The four-pitch mix and his reconciliation with the strike zone are keeping the rotation door open for Winn.

“I wouldn’t say that the door is ever closed on somebody with that kind of arsenal and the pedigree of a starter in the minors,” Rangers minor league pitching coordinator Jordan Tiegs said.

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