Nick Tepesch

Tepesch missed the entire 2015 season, first with nerve irritation in his throwing elbow and then season-ending surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, after failing to make the team out of spring training despite a 22-start audition back in 2014. The last time we saw Tepesch he was putting up ghastly numbers (44 walks, 55 Ks in 126 innings), so tread very carefully here even if he ends up winning a spot at the back of the Texas rotation with a solid spring if Yu Darvish is unable to answer the bell for the opener.

Despite some solid work in 93 innings during the 2013 season, Tepesch still wasn't seen as any sort of impact arm. The injury bug that ravaged the 2014 Rangers put a larger burden on Tepesch than the team wanted. While he did manage to skate through his 23 appearances (22 starts) with a 4.36 ERA, he didn't pitch anywhere near as well as that figure suggests. His strikeout was positively abysmal (10.4%) and checked in as the lowest among pitchers with at least 120 innings last season. And he didn’t make up for it with a sharp walk rate, either. It bounced to 8.2%, leaving him with a 1.3 K:BB ratio. He again struggled at home, though his road work wasn’t exactly usable, either. He'll compete for a spot in the rotation again this spring, but he may not last long in any role if he doesn't improve his underlying numbers.

Tepesch made 17 starts for Texas in 2013 as an injury fill-in -- in and around his own injuries -- and was reasonably effective given the expectations. He does not really project to be much more than that given his career 7.3 K/P rate and 1.29 WHIP in the minors, but he does figure to get a chance to compete with Alexi Ogando this spring for the final spot in the Rangers' rotation.