Acknowledging an inability to develop starting pitching and wishing to jump-start their return to competitive ball, the Rangers have purchased an entire rotation on the open market. An ostensible rotation, given the injury histories of its members, but let’s leave that aside for now. Added to last year’s signing of Jon Gray were Martin Perez (himself a free agent for only a few days as he pondered Texas’s qualifying offer), Jake DeGrom, Andrew Heaney, and Nathan Eovaldi.
With that in mind, I wondered about the most and least stable year-over-year rotations in team history. I looked the data two ways: percentage of starts in a season made by pitchers who started at least once for the Rangers the year before, and percentage of starts made by pitchers who started at least ten games the year before (or a proportional number in shortened seasons).
The 2023 rotation gives the appearance of huge turnover, but I seriously doubt it will rank very high in franchise history. That would require Jon Gray and Martin Perez to be nearly absent, and even then, much of the high-level depth consists of last year’s rotation (Dane Dunning, Cole Ragans, Glenn Otto).
First, the rotations with the most year-over-year turnover (Red/bold = 10+ starts in the initial year, red = 1-9 starts in the initial year):
1. 2006 (18% of starts by previous year’s starters, 0% of starts by those with 10 or more starts)
2005 | 2006 |
31 - Chris Young 30 - Kenny Rogers 20 - Chan Ho Park 12 - Ryan Drese 12 - Pedro Astacio 10 - Juan Dominguez 10 - Ricardo Rodriguez 9 - Joaquin Benoit 8 - Kameron Loe 6 - John Wasdin 6 - CJ Wilson 4 - RA Dickey 3 - Edinson Volquez 1 - Josh Rupe | 34 - Kevin Millwood 33 - Vicente Padilla 23 - John Koronka 15 - Kameron Loe 14 - Rob Tejeda 13 - John Rheinecker 13 - Adam Eaton 8 - Edinson Volquez 5 - John Wasdin 2 - Kip Wells 1 - Rick Bauer 1 - RA Dickey |
2. 2018 (26% of starts by previous year’s starters, 22% of starts by those with 10 or more starts)
2017 | 2018 |
32 - Martín Pérez 28 - Andrew Cashner 24 - Cole Hamels 22 - Yu Darvish 18 - Nick Martinez 15 - A.J. Griffin 10 - Tyson Ross 6 - Austin Bibens-Dirkx 5 - Miguel González 1 - Alex Claudio 1 - Dillon Gee | 28 - Mike Minor 24 - Bartolo Colon 20 - Cole Hamels 18 - Yovani Gallardo 15 - Martín Pérez 12 - Doug Fister 12 - Matt Moore 8 - Ariel Jurado 6 - Austin Bibens-Dirkx 5 - Yohander Méndez 5 - Drew Hutchison 4 - Adrian Sampson 2 - Jeffrey Springs 2 - Connor Sadzeck 1 - Alex Claudio |
3. 2019 (40% of starts by previous year’s starters, 20% of starts by those with 10 or more starts)
2018 | 2019 |
28 - Mike Minor 24 - Bartolo Colon 20 - Cole Hamels 18 - Yovani Gallardo 15 - Martín Pérez 12 - Doug Fister 12 - Matt Moore 8 - Ariel Jurado 6 - Austin Bibens-Dirkx 5 - Yohander Méndez 5 - Drew Hutchison 4 - Adrian Sampson 2 - Jeffrey Springs 2 - Connor Sadzeck 1 - Alex Claudio | 33 - Lance Lynn 32 - Mike Minor 18 - Ariel Jurado 15 - Adrian Sampson 9 - Jesse Chavez 9 - Drew Smyly 9 - Kolby Allard 8 - Shelby Miller 6 - Brock Burke 4 - Pedro Payano 4 - Joe Palumbo 4 - Edinson Volquez |
Next, the three most stable Texas rotations year-over-year:
1. 1990 (88% of starts by previous year’s starters, an identical 88% of starts by those with 10 or more starts)
1989 | 1990 |
32 - Nolan Ryan 31 - Bobby Witt 30 - Charlie Hough 28 - Kevin Brown 22 - Mike Jeffcoat 15 - Jamie Moyer 2 - John Barfield 1 - Brad Arnsberg 1 - Wilson Alvarez | 32 - Charlie Hough 32 - Bobby Witt 30 - Nolan Ryan 26 - Kevin Brown 12 - Mike Jeffcoat 10 - Jamie Moyer 6 - Scott Chiamparino 6 - Brian Bohanon 3 - Kenny Rogers 3 - Craig McMurtry 2 - Gerald Alexander |
2. 1979 (85% of starts by previous year’s starters, 81% by those with 10 or more starts)
1978 | 1979 |
33- Jon Matlack 30 - Fergie Jenkins 28 - Doyle Alexander 22 - Doc Medich 22 - Doc Ellis 11 - Steve Comer 9 - Jim Umbarger 4 - Paul Mirabella 2 - Roger Moret 1 - Danny Darwin | 37 - Fergie Jenkins 36 - Steve Comer 19 - Doc Medich 18 - Doyle Alexander 13 - Jon Matlack 12 - John Henry Johnson 9 - Dock Ellis 6 - Danny Darwin 4 - Brian Allard 3 - Dave Rajsich 2 - Ed Farmer 2 - Jerry Don Gleaton 1 - Larry McCall |
3. 1992 (81% of starts by previous year’s starters, 78% by those with 10 or more starts)
1991 | 1992 |
33 - Kevin Brown 27 - Nolan Ryan 25 - Jose Guzman 16 - Bobby Witt 12 - Oil Can Boyd 11 - Brian Bohanon 9 - Kenny Rogers 9 - Gerald Alexander 9 - Jon Barfield 5 - Scott Chiamparino 3 - Hector Fajardo 2 - Terry Matthews 1 - Mark Petkovsek | 35 - Kevin Brown 33 - Jose Guzman 27 - Nolan Ryan 25 - Bobby Witt 12 - Roger Pavlik 10 - Todd Burns 7 - Brian Bohanon 4 - Jeff Robinson 4 - Scott Chiamparino 3 - Mike Jeffcoat 2 - Dan Smith |