SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Right-hander Ariel Jurado will be on the mound for the Rangers when they open their Cactus League schedule against the Royals on Saturday. Left-hander Yohander Mendez will follow him on Sunday against the Brewers in Surprise.

There is a good reason those two are up first for the Rangers. This is a big spring for both. Jurado and Mendez are the Rangers' two prospects closest to being Major League-ready, but there are a growing number of young arms coming quickly from behind.

This could be the year Jurado and Mendez show they can be successful at the Major League level, or they could find themselves getting passed up in the organizational depth chart.

“They know that,” manager Chris Woodward said. “They have a lot to prove, as does everybody. My message to Jurado and Mendez is: Take advantage of the opportunity in front of you. Don’t try to read into: ‘Am I ahead, am I not ahead?’ Go out and execute your pitches. That’s what I am looking for the most.”

Both had mixed success in their 2018 audition. Jurado was 5-5 with a 5.93 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP over eight starts and four relief appearances, while Mendez was 2-2 with a 5.53 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP in five starts and three relief appearances.

They had the same issue as many other Rangers pitchers last year. They didn’t miss many bats.

Jurado, whose best pitch is a power sinker, had a 9.1 percent strikeout rate, the lowest of 238 Major League pitchers with at least five starts. Mendez was slightly higher (14.9 percent) but still in the bottom 25. There were 24 pitchers who had at least five starts and a strikeout rate below 15 percent. Only seven on those had an ERA below 5.00.

Jurado needs more than the sinker. He had a ground-ball rate of 52.2 percent but also had a whiff rate of 10.4 percent. According to Statcast, that was the lowest whiff rate among any pitcher with at least 200 batted-ball events. That’s why pitching coach Julio Rangel is working with Jurado on using his changeup more and tightening up his curveball.

“A lot of our young guys are still developing,” Rangel said. “Development never stops. In the big leagues, there is always something to work on.”

Mendez has a plus changeup and is also working on tightening up his curve. But his biggest issue has been fastball command, and the Rangers are trying to fix that by making his delivery more compact.

“We’re not asking him to dot everything but just control the strike zone,” Rangel said. “That will let his changeup play more.”

Both pitchers know what is at stake.

“For me, it’s a big Spring Training, but I’m not putting pressure on myself,” Mendez said. “I’m working because I want to make the team. I want to do my job and see what happens.”

The Rangers' rotation is led by Mike Minor and Lance Lynn. But the other three projected starters -- Shelby Miller, Edinson Volquez and Drew Smiley -- are all coming back from Tommy John surgery. There are no guarantees they will be ready.

There is also no guarantee that Jurado or Mendez would get the first call. The Rangers have other candidates, including Jason Hammel, Luke Farrell and Adrian Sampson. All three have big league experience.

“There is a lot of guys and a lot of competition here,” Jurado said. “I just have to keep working hard every day.”