Adrian Fedkiw
The Texas Rangers can want, but they can’t have.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported Monday that the Rangers are interested in Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Vincent Velasquez.
#Rangers interested in Vincent Velasquez, as I just reported on @MLBNetwork. Price is obviously high. #Phillies
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 25, 2016
Of course the price would be high, duh. The 24-year-old fireballer Velasquez is currently 8-2 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 103 strikeouts over 91 2/3 innings pitched. He’s also sporting a WAR of 2.0. Velasquez has relied heavily on that mid-90’s heater, throwing it 65.7 percent of the time. He’ll become even scarier when his secondary pitches become fully developed over the next few years. The centerpiece of the Ken Giles trade with the Houston Astros during the offseason fanned 16 Padres during a shutout against San Diego earlier this season. Thirteen of those punchouts came via the fastball.
He’s not going anywhere.