Yohander Mendez Moves Ahead Of Schedule

Yohander Mendez (Photo by Bill Mitchell)

ARLINGTON—Upon reaching Triple-A Round Rock in August, lefthander Yohander Mendez assumed that was where his 2016 journey would end.

The 21-year-old had thrown a career high 111 innings, and though he had done well and was on the 40-man roster, reaching the major leagues was a goal for next season.

The Rangers, though, had other plans for Mendez, whom Texas recalled on Sept. 2 along with righthander Nick Martinez and catcher Brett Nicholas.

The Rangers wanted added depth in all areas, though no player was expected to fill a prominent role. That includes Mendez, whose primary duty was to soak up the experience of being in the majors and in a playoff race.

“I thought I had too many innings,” said Mendez, the Rangers’ top pitching prospect after the July trades of Luis Ortiz and Dillon Tate. “It’s something that I wanted for my family, friends and myself. It’s a dream for me.”

The Mariners interrupted Mendez’s dream when they scored five times in one inning during his major league debut.

That did little to deter Mendez, whom the Rangers signed out of Venezuela in 2011. He went 12-3, 2.19 in 24 games (21 starts) this season at three stops, striking out 9.2 per nine innings.

Mendez flashed a plus changeup, his best pitch, to get multiple swings and misses. His fastball sat in the low 90s, and his slider had good bite.

The Rangers limited his innings and used him strictly in low-leverage situations, and he made only one more appearance, throwing two innings against the Athletics on Sept. 17.

Mendez said the key to his September callup was what he learned in January from the coaching staff at the Rangers’ annual mid-winter mini-camp and then in his first big league spring camp.

“I was very focused on what they told me to do,” Mendez said. “I followed the instructions, and I was doing what I had to do in my preparations to go higher and higher.”

RANGERS ROUNDUP

• Lefthander Andrew Faulkner was part of a group of players the Rangers wanted to keep ready for later in a postseason run that didn’t materialize. Faulkner instead found himself pitching in the Arizona Fall League, where he opened with a pair of scoreless appearances.

• Outfielder Jairo Beras capped his season at high Class A High Desert with a California League player-of-the-month award. The 21-year-old ranked fifth in the league with 22 home runs.