Dallas’ own MLBbro pitcher Taylor Hearn gets the start Monday afternoon to open up the 2022 baseball season in Arlington, Texas.
“This means a lot, it’s funny how God works,” Hearn told reporters after being informed he’d be on the mound for the first home game of the year. “I’ve been through so much to get here and now this happens.”
Here we have what appears to be Taylor Hearn, Jose Trevino and Brock Holt with a calf-roping dummy in shallow right field. pic.twitter.com/guYLQux7zl
— Levi Weaver (@ThreeTwoEephus) October 2, 2021
Hearn is from Dallas suburb Royse City and attended Royse City High School where he graduated in 2012. He was selected in every MLB Draft between then and 2015, being drafted by the Pirates, Reds and Twins, before ultimately choosing to sign with the Washington Nationals out of Oklahoma Baptist.
Newcomers Taylor Hearn and Wei-Chieh Huang were dominant as part of a wonderful night at Dr Pepper Ballpark. Check out the highlights: pic.twitter.com/IfncfwAMYe
— Frisco RoughRiders (@RidersBaseball) August 4, 2018
Hearn’s a lefty with the skills and talent to be the team’s number one starter but with the Rangers beginning the season against one of the deepest right-handed lineups in baseball, that includes leadoff homer hitter George Springer, and being the only player with Dallas ties on the roster, manager Chris Woodward decided to wait to use his card until Opening Day.
The Dallas native earned a spot in the Rangers starting rotation this season after securing his spot in the Majors with his play in 2021, splitting time between the bullpen and being a starter.
During a stretch of nine appearances from August 5 to September 22, Hearn pitched at least four innings and gave up three or less runs in every game but one.
He struck out 92 batters in 104.1 innings last season and finished with a 4.66 ERA, which is a little inflated and doesn’t show how effective he truly was for the Rangers throughout the season.
The stage is set for Hearn: Texas needs a long and effective outing out of him. It’s their fourth game in four days and the bullpen is coming off being heavily used in Toronto. They also just placed their highest paid free agent pitcher and Opening Day starter on the Injured List, so someone needs to take the Ace role in the rotation.
Monday is also Hearn’s first time using ‘PitchCom’ during the regular season. This is a system Major League Baseball debuted this season where the catcher wears a pad on the wrist of their glove hands that can relay what pitch and location they want into a listening aid worn by the pitcher and three other teammates on the field.
He used it a few times in Spring Training, and in his last start pitched four innings against the Dodgers giving up one run on three hits.
Hearn’s first pitch against the Rockies on Monday will be at 3:05 p.m.
