How Jacob Latz became the Rangers' unlikely dominant closer

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter, with MLB.com's Matthew Ritchie filling in for this edition. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The old adage of “when one door closes, another opens” has seemingly claimed another victory in the form of Rangers reliever Jacob Latz.

It would have been easy enough for the left-hander to flounder after losing the battle with Kumar Rocker for the final rotation spot out of Spring Training. Latz could have simply settled into the middle class of Texas’ bullpen, resigned to provide relief and support in a mop-up or bridge role.

But after Latz’s 12th save of the season Sunday, another scoreless showing with two strikeouts in the Rangers’ 6-4 win against the Red Sox (dropping his ERA to a minuscule 1.62), his early-season ascension as Texas’ bullpen weapon went up another notch. And with the Midsummer Classic quickly approaching, the questions surrounding Latz have begun to take on a different tone.

“I don't look at other people's rosters unless we're playing them, but he just reminds me so much of Tanner Scott, when I was in Miami,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “We didn't really know what Tanner was going to bring, and then you look up a month into this thing and he's pitching the highest-leverage games. And then he ends up being an All-Star caliber closer. … I think [Latz] is an All-Star-caliber pitcher and closer.”

At this point, it’s quite difficult to argue otherwise. Among American League relievers with 30 or more innings, Latz sports the second-lowest ERA behind the Blue Jays’ Louis Varland (0.96). He’s shutting down opposing hitters with a 0.60 WHIP, while also holding them to a .116 average. In five appearances so far in June, Latz has yet to give up a run, and has allowed just four baserunners (two hits and two walks) in 7 1/3 innings, striking out 11 batters.

It doesn’t seem to matter what spot Latz finds himself facing when he enters the game in a high-leverage situation. Lefties are hitting just .163 off of him, and right-handed batters can’t seem to figure him out at all, as he’s held them to a .079 average in 63 ABs. Whether the Rangers are ahead or behind, Latz often finds a way to get out of trouble and pass the baton back to Texas’ offense -- or shut the door completely for the win.

And that reputation is beginning to get louder. Even if it took a while for the full picture to come into focus.

“He's a stud. He's high leverage, lefty, righty, doesn't matter,” Schumaker said. “Coming out of Spring Training, we had no idea what really this was going to look like. We knew we loved the kid and the arm, but we didn't know if it was going to be seventh inning or eighth and ninth inning now. He just shows you what he's made of every night.”

How has Latz found himself amongst the best relievers in the Majors, staunchly resting in the 99th percentile of expected ERA and expected batting average and snatching the Rangers’ closer role by force?

It started with a greater reliance on his four-seam fastball, which he’s throwing at the highest rate of his career (56%, which hovers around the likes of the Reds’ Chase Burns, Royals’ Cole Ragans and Tigers' Kyle Finnegan). Latz’s four-seam alone has generated a pitcher’s run value of 11, a mark tied for third in the Majors, ranking above noted flamethrowers Cam Schlittler and Shohei Ohtani.

When Latz throws his fastball, opposing hitters are batting just .114 and slugging .200. The confidence that stems from wielding such a weapon with his primary pitch -- despite it averaging just 94.5 mph -- can’t be overstated. It opens avenues to tunnel his release with the slider and changeup glove-side underneath the zone, while providing an old reliable option to fall back on.

“Closers have to have a couple things,” pitching coach Jordan Tiegs said. “They need to have some sort of elite pitch, which he does in his fastball. Also, he has other good pitches, but the fastball is real. And they have to throw strikes, that's a given, and so he checks those boxes. But I think, honestly, the mental side allows that stuff to play out more than anything.”

But what has impressed the Rangers the most has been the way Latz has wholeheartedly thrown himself into the fray. When he lost out on the rotation spot back in March, Latz marched toward Schumaker and Tiegs to advocate for a spot amongst the high-leverage arms. One can see it in his postgame interviews following saves, where he’s almost unbothered and loose after multi-inning efforts to close out the game -- which he has five of to lead the Majors.

“I think number one, he has the right demeanor for [closing],” Tiegs said. “He thrives off the moment from an adrenaline standpoint, but his brain just functions very slow and methodical. So I think it's like the perfect blend of, he gets a little added adrenaline to help his stuff, but it never speeds him up mentally, and it never feels like the moment's too fast or too big for him.”