SURPRISE, Ariz. — To be honest, right-handed pitcher Ryan Lobus said, he really isn’t sure what he would’ve done career-wise if a team didn’t sign him after he went unselected in the MLB draft three years ago.
“My fiancée is going to be on me for that question,” Lobus said Sunday with a laugh. “I remember sitting their in my dorm room like, man, what am I going to do?”
His answer to that now, at least, is “minor league relief pitcher.”
It could become “big league relief pitcher” in the not-so distant future.
Rangers
Lobus, 24, is one of several young relievers in Texas Rangers camp who are in competition for one of the few available spots in the team’s rebuilt bullpen. He went undrafted out of Mercer three years ago, signed with the Rangers that summer, moved quickly through the system and has compiled a 3.53 ERA in 165⅔ professional innings.
“He is going to, in our opinion, help us at some point this season,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “Whether it’s early, breaking camp or not, that remains to be seen. He’s got something about him that we really like.”
That’s different from feedback than the kind he received during the 2022 and 2023 MLB drafts. Lobus, who had a 4.54 ERA in his junior season at Mercer and a 6.96 ERA in his senior season, was not picked in either. He entered the transfer portal and planned to play a fifth college season at UNC Charlotte before his agent called with news that the Rangers were interested.
“That’s definitely something I’ll carry with me for as long as I play this game,” Lobus said. “I’ll keep that chip on my shoulder from it. No matter who we play, every night, every team passed on me.”
He then paused and did the math.
“For two straight years,” he said. “It was an interesting experience, for sure, but I’m grateful to land with the Rangers.
Lobus pitched against one of the teams that passed on him Sunday afternoon. He threw a scoreless seventh inning vs. the Colorado Rockies in his Cactus League debut. He got catcher Braxton Fullard to fly out on three pitches and walked center fielder GJ Hill on six pitches before right fielder Benny Montgomery grounded into a double play on a sinker.
His slider — which Schumaker described as “real” — was the pitch that he fine-tuned with the help of minor league pitching coaches Julio Valdez and Thomas St. Clair after he joined the organization. It ran just 80 mph vs. the Rockies but carried 20 inches of horizontal break, per Statcast data, and is “uncomfortable for righties” according to Schumaker.
“We were all kind of on the same page trying to create some lift with the slider,” Lobus said. “If I can create that lift with some sweep, it’s kind of just a great look. I don’t throw super hard, so, I have to play the angles game.”
Lobus reached Double-A Frisco by the end of his first full professional season. He had a 3.48 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 45 games pitched almost exclusively out of Frisco’s bullpen last season. He has not yet pitched above that level but will have a real chance to prove his big-league worth this spring as the Rangers look to round out their bullpen.
“That’s the goal, to pitch in the big leagues and help this club,” Lobus said. “But, right now, I’m just really focused on trying to get a little better each day, taking care of my business and kind of seeing what happens from there.”
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