Taylor Hearn Continues To Push The Limits Of His Pitching Potential

Taylor Hearn is in his third season with the Texas Rangers and the left-handed pitcher has already made more appearances this season than the last two combined.

Hearn is starting to adjust in the league as a pitcher and he wants to help make an impact for the Rangers anyway he can. 

 

 

Typically, Hearn is a bullpen guy, who comes in later in the game and pitches anywhere from one to two innings. At times he may be asked to go longer.

But recently, he did something for the first time this season, starting a game on the mound.

In his first start of the season, Hearn did not have the outing that he envisioned.

On June 22, 2021, he took the mound against the Oakland Athletics. It was a quick outing for Hearn as he only threw 0.2 innings. He gave up four runs on two hits and walked three.

Now Hearn had made 22 appearances before that, but they all were out of the bullpen. So he quickly had to make an adjustment in preparation for his first start of the year.

 

He walked the first batter he faced on four straight pitches and then gave up a home run to the second batter he faced.

So you see, it was one of those nights for Hearn. But that’s the game and it happens. It’s all about how you bounce back from adversity. 

Rangers manager Chris Woodward did not waste any time pulling Hearn out of the game.

“He just didn’t have good command,” Woodward told The Dallas Morning News. “He was all over the place.”

Going into the game, Woodward was not expecting Hearn to pitch more than a few innings or even solidify himself as a starter. Hearn only made one other start during his career and that came in 2019. It was his major league debut and he only recorded one out before he was pulled.

So for Hearn, it seems like coming out of the bullpen is more of his thing. But who knows, he may get another opportunity to start during the season and he might have a totally different outing.

 

 

June has not been a good month for the 26-year-old on the mound as he finished the month with a 9.58 ERA in seven appearances.

But in May, the 26-year-old was an effective reliever out of the bullpen. He made eight appearances during the month and had one game where he allowed the opposing team to score. 

He finished May with a 1.93 ERA through 14 innings of work and picked up two wins. Hearn has a 2-2 record through 23 games and an ERA of 5.75 with 42 strikeouts. He had the streets of Arlington buzzing. 

 

 

Everyone has ups and down throughout the course of a grueling 162-game season. Our MLBbro will have many opportunities to make an impact on the mound. 

Hearn can use his recent performance as motivation going forward. There’s no question that he has the skillset to be effective.