SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Texas Rangers fielded baseball’s best rotation last season, and with a mesh of veteran anchors and young starters with considerable potential, there’s reason to believe that it can be as good or better this year.
How about five years from now?
The rotation’s co-aces — right-handers Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi — will be 42 and 41, respectively, and likely retired or on the doorstep of it when the 2031 season begins. The still-green arms on their staff now will be in their respective primes. The farm system’s top prospects will be major league-aged.
So what could the Texas rotation look like a half-decade from now? The caveat here is that future trades, free agent acquisitions and draft picks can’t be factored into the equation. If this exercise were done five years ago, prior to the 2021 season, at least four-fifths of this year’s rotation wouldn’t have been in the organization. So, if the Rangers trade for Paul Skenes, sign Tarik Skubal or draft their next ace with the No. 16 pick in this summer’s draft, we can’t account for that here.
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We can take their current rotation, farm system and development track record into consideration, though, as we project forward to the 2031 season.
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Texas Rangers pitcher MacKenzie Gore delivers during the first inning of a spring training game against the Chicago White Sox on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Glendale, Ariz.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
No. 1: LHP MacKenzie Gore
Age in 2031: 32
Current credentials: He was a first-time All-Star with the Washington Nationals last season and was one of the league’s best statistical pitchers before some second-half burnout caught up. The Rangers dealt five prospects for the former phenom prospect to bolster their current rotation and, ideally, anchor their future rotation.
Why he’ll be here: Gore, 27, is on the cusp of his prime and has a whole heap of pedigree that suggests his ceiling hasn’t yet been reached. His career numbers through four seasons (4.19 ERA in 532 1/3 innings) aren’t entirely ace quality. His peaks (like a 3.02 ERA and 11.26 strikeouts-per-nine innings before last year’s All-Star break) might say otherwise.
He was once the sixth-best prospect leaguewide, per Baseball America, and his high leg kick once graced the cover of the outlet’s print magazine when it labeled him a can’t-miss high school prospect nine years ago. Gore’s pure stuff — like a mid-to-high-90s fastball from the left side and a dastardly curveball — is among the best on the team currently if you poll the team’s clubhouse. The Rangers believe that their pitching department can get the best out of him, too, as he now joins a veteran-laden rotation with eyes on contention.
“MacKenzie is a No. 1 in the making, probably not right now on this team because of [Eovaldi and deGrom], but you have a young star pitcher like that,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said earlier this camp. “[He’s] really just starting his career and being at the top of a rotation on a team that’s trying to win this whole thing. I think it’s going to be not only great for us but great for him.”
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No. 2: RHP Jack Leiter
Age in 2031: 30
Current credentials: Leiter, like Gore, was something of a prodigy. The son of former big leaguer Al Leiter was considered a top draft prospect out of Delbarton School (N.J.) before he honored his commitment to Vanderbilt. The Rangers selected him second overall in the 2021 MLB draft, and after three years of refinement, he posted a 3.86 ERA in his first full big league campaign last season.
Why he’ll be here: Leiter meshed his pre-draft expectations with on-field performance for the Rangers last season when he helped solidify baseball’s best rotation. He posted a 3.28 ERA in 71 1/3 innings after the All-Star break, and if his finish to the season mirrors what Leiter can be consistently in actuality, there’s real All-Star upside.
The 25-year-old’s future potential is rooted in his makeup as much as it is in his current abilities. Leiter’s baseball intelligence and work ethic are both considered plus traits, and as he’s shown each of the last two springs, his pursuit of improvement is relentless. Leiter added a kick changeup to his arsenal last season that served as an effective off-speed pitch that held batters to a .186 average. He’s worked on a cutter this camp in an effort to become more unpredictable with a three-pronged fastball array.
That’s the type of mindset that can allow a pitcher to stay one step ahead of hitters.
It’s also the type of mindset that allows for longevity and improvement over, say, a five-year span.
No. 3: RHP Caden Scarborough
Age in 2031: 25
Current credentials: Scarborough is the club’s consensus top-ranked pitching prospect and one of the league’s best. He’s ranked No. 65 in Baseball America’s top 100 prospects list and ranked No. 99 in ESPN’s. The Rangers selected Scarborough in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB draft and banked on the 6-5 high schooler’s projectability and upside. So far, so good.
Image of Caden Scarborough
Courtesy of Texas Rangers / Bailey Orr / Texas Rangers
Why he’ll be here: He’s tall, lanky and is a product of the central Florida region, much like the two-time Cy Young award winner currently on the club’s staff.
Is that enough of a reason?
No? How about this: Scarborough has a plus fastball that sits in the mid 90s and can reach 97 mph, a slider that MLB Pipeline described as “nasty” and a still-in-the-works changeup that has swing-and-miss potential.
He was a hidden gem when the Rangers drafted him, but after the club’s strength and conditioning department helped put some muscle on him and the organization’s coaches tweaked his arsenal, the breakout ensued. Scarborough posted a 2.45 ERA in 98 1/3 innings split between Single-A Hickory and High-A Hub City last season — despite the fact that he was young for the class he finished in. He’ll likely be tested against advanced hitters at Double-A Frisco this season, but should he pass, his upside will remain as high as any arm in the system.
Texas Rangers second round draft pick AJ Russell shakes hands with third baseman Josh Jung before baseball game at Globe Life Field on Wednesday, July 23, 2025.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
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No. 4: RHP AJ Russell
Age in 2031: 26
Current credentials: Russell is the club’s third-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and the second-ranked pitcher behind Scarborough. The Rangers selected him in the second round of last year’s draft out of Tennessee, though if he hadn’t missed most of the season after elbow surgery, he might’ve been a first-round pick.
Why he’ll be here: Sometimes, as pitchers are evaluated, it’s best to confer with those who have to see them in the batter’s box.
“We faced a kid on the minor league side who had a fastball a lot like deGrom’s,” right fielder Brandon Nimmo said unprompted earlier this camp. “He had a really good fastball. It’s electric.”
The fastball belonged to Russell, a 21-year-old right-hander who’s yet to make his professional debut, and it’s a large reason why both the Rangers and national evaluators are so high on him. The 6-f6 righty can run his fastball up to 98 mph, and per Baseball America, it grades as a potential “double-plus” pitch. That grade, in the language of scouts, means it’s in line with the best fastballs in the game.
The largest difference between him and Scarborough is that the latter has more refined secondary pitches. Russell may run the risk of bullpen candidacy if his slider and changeup don’t become more than average pitches.
His fastball may already be one of the best in the organization regardless of classification, though, and he’ll have the chance to test it against professional hitters for the first time this summer. If it’s a success, and if his off-speed pitches are effective, he could find himself in the big-league rotation sooner than five years from now.
No. 5: RHP Kumar Rocker
Age in 2031: 31
Current credentials: Rocker was an incredibly hyped high school prospect before he signed with Vanderbilt and backed up that status in college. He was a first-round draft choice — twice — and the Rangers landed him with the third-overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft. His professional career was hampered early by elbow surgery, but last year, he spent the bulk of the season in the big leagues. OK, now it becomes a tad more complicated.
Why he’ll be here: His pure stuff has top-of-the-rotation potential. The fact that he’s slotted here fifth has more to do with the battles he’s faced to unlock his stuff’s full potential.
Rocker’s breaking pitch — which is a combination of a slider and a curveball — is one of the most lethal weapons on staff when it’s on. His sinker and four-seam fastball can both reach the upper 90’s. His changeup, if developed, might help unlock it all.
The fact of the matter is that Rocker’s development has not been linear. His focus on the mound has been a question mark at times. His ability to hold runners has hampered him. His sometimes too-predictable arsenal has mitigated the effectiveness of each pitch. It all showed last season for the Rangers when he had a 5.74 ERA in 64 1/3 innings.
Rocker still has considerable upside despite those blemishes, and with only 159 2/3 total professional innings under his belt, the 26-year-old is far from a finished product. He might put it all together this season and leave all doubts behind him, and if he does, the future of the rotation’s foundation only grows brighter.
Honorable mentionsLHP Jacob Latz: It’s a longer shot given his current age (29), proximity to free agency and lack of guarantee that he’ll even operate as a full-time starter. But Latz showed upside as a starter last season with a 2.72 ERA in eight starts, and if he solidifies himself as one this season, it isn’t inconceivable that he etches out a long-term role. LHP Cody Bradford: Injuries have pushed the 28-year-old to the back of some minds, but in his last healthy season two years ago, Bradford posted a 3.03 ERA in 74 1/3 innings as a starter. He’s a soft-throwing lefty who thrives on craft and command, which should help him as he ages, but he’ll need to last a full season within the rotation before anything is guaranteed. RHP David Davalillo: The 23-year-old may be the best “pitcher” in the minor league system. He has seven pitches and knows how to use them to overcome a lack of elite stuff. His career 2.35 ERA in the minor leagues is as good or better than any arm leaguewide, too, though he’ll need to prove that his smaller frame can sustain a starter’s workload. RHP Jose Corniell: Some believe that the 22-year-old is the second-best pitching prospect in the organization. He reached the big leagues last season, has good command and a fastball that runs in the mid-to-high 90s. If there’s anyone in this section who could overtake Scarborough, Russell or Rocker, it may be Corniell. RHP Winston Santos: Santos may one day wind up in a bullpen role, but this camp, his mentality and motivation impressed Schumaker and company. He had a 3.67 ERA in his last fully healthy season two years ago and should get the chance to debut with the Rangers this year.
Twitter/X: @McFarland_Shawn
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