00:00You're on as Matt Hicks joins you now here on your home of the Rangers and good afternoon, sir.
00:03How the heck are you?
00:05I'm doing well. Thanks, guys. How are you?
00:07Man, we're doing great. Nine days till opening day in the World Baseball Classic Championship game tonight.
00:13Are you locked into this thing or what?
00:15I think I'm going to get a chance to see a part of it, maybe the back half of it.
00:20We have a we have a little dinner tonight amongst RSN folks, but hopefully I get a chance to see
00:27the back half.
00:28Well, that would be amazing.
00:30And it would also be amazing if the Rangers can keep up these positive offensive trends that they've shown us
00:35in spring training so far.
00:37What do you make of all the walks they're drawn? Hicksie, is this sustainable?
00:42Well, I mean, at the rate that they're doing it right now, I don't know if we can do it
00:46at that kind of percentage.
00:48But the fact that they are doing it and guys are.
00:52And again, it's not so much like something magical, like, you know, guys are seeing, pardon me, the pitch is
01:01better.
01:02They're they're better judges of the strike zone.
01:04I think what it is, is most of the guys are just doing a better job of going after their
01:11pitch.
01:11You know, this is something that's been preached for the longest time, regardless of who the hitting coach has been
01:16here for the last three or four years.
01:20But let your a swing fly against pitches that you can do damage to.
01:25And if a pitch is not where you can do significant damage to where you think you can, then let
01:32it go by.
01:33And sometimes that's a strike, but it's not in your zone where you need to be focused.
01:38And so depending upon the count, depending upon the situation, hitters will focus on a pitch in a certain spot
01:46where they know that they can be successful.
01:49And I think that they've almost to a man been able to do that.
01:54But what it means as well is that they're obviously being more selective, but not necessarily selective versus balls versus
02:03strikes, if that makes any sense.
02:05So I think that, you know, it's cut down on the chase for sure.
02:13And I think that, you know, going along with that is just pitch recognition, you know, knowing who your opponent
02:19is, knowing what they throw, when they throw it, when they're likely to throw it into a certain spot.
02:24And if that information in advance is going to help you to make a better decision early on, when the
02:32ball is being released or just after the pitcher lets it go, then I think you're probably ahead of the
02:37game as far as hitting is concerned.
02:39And guys are just not swinging at as many bad pitches.
02:42And so, therefore, they're getting into favorable counts.
02:45And they're not chasing when, you know, the count is 3-1 or full count.
02:52Hicksey, when it comes to the pitching staff, I mean, do you have a feel for what maybe the closer
02:59role is going to look like at this point?
03:01Or is that just going to be kind of on the fly as the season goes and it's a hodgepodge
03:05of different dudes?
03:08That latter description is, I think, pretty right on the head there is what's going to happen.
03:13You know, when you don't have somebody that's a standout closer coming out of spring training like it is with
03:21the Rangers,
03:22I think you're going to see different guys fill that role and maybe even right out of the gate.
03:29I mean, you might have a situation in Philadelphia where with a late lead, Chris Martin gets the first opportunity
03:35and he's successful.
03:37But you also might have a situation where it just makes more sense to have the lefty, Robert Garcia,
03:44depending upon whatever the matchup is in the ninth inning, get that opportunity.
03:48So, it's not going to be a situation where, let's say, Chris Martin gets the first three safe chances and
03:56he's successful.
03:57But then Robert Garcia gets the chance or maybe Cole Wynn steps in and gets a chance.
04:05And they're successful.
04:07I think all of the guys are intelligent enough to know what the situation is.
04:13And they're very willing to go along with whatever it is that's being decided by Skip and his staff.
04:21So, I think we're going to see a 2026 season where you're going to have more than a handful of
04:27guys pick up saves for this ball club.
04:30But I think out of the gate, I think Chris Martin is probably going to be a guy, not necessarily
04:36the guy.
04:37How long do you think it is before Kamar Rocker as a reliever is something the organization will more seriously
04:45consider than they have to this point?
04:48That's a really good question because when you think about Rocker and his stuff, you know, he's got some electric
04:56stuff.
04:56It's just a matter of him trying to figure out how to put it all together as a starter.
05:03So, I think, I don't think it's something that the front office has talked about out front.
05:10Like, oh, this is something that we're definitely, you know, looking to do with Kamar.
05:15I think they want Kamar to be a starter.
05:17But certainly, I think, amongst themselves, it's a topic that has been discussed.
05:23And it's something that is on the back burner.
05:26I do have some Kamar Rocker news I can share with you.
05:30We just got a text about five minutes ago.
05:34Rocker is going to be the starting pitcher for the A game tomorrow against Kansas City.
05:42Jack Leiter is going to pitch tomorrow in a minor league game.
05:46Now, don't read anything into that.
05:48That doesn't mean anything as far as what the rotation is going to look like at the outset of the
05:54season.
05:55But basically, what we've been seeing recently from the rotation is basically pretty much the order they're going to be
06:01in.
06:03Whether or not Rocker gets that fifth spot, I think, is still open.
06:09You know, Jacob Latz could emerge as the number five starter to begin the year.
06:14But forget what the rotation is going to be to open the season.
06:20Rocker and Latz are both going to get starts, you know, at points this year.
06:25But anyway, Rocker will be on the big field tomorrow.
06:29Leiter will be on the backfields.
06:31Looking forward to that.
06:32Looking forward to seeing what Rocker's Vandy teammate Jack Leiter has in store here for this 2026 season.
06:39How much better could it get than last year?
06:41I think it can get significantly better.
06:44You know, I think Jack took big strides last season to be able to put up the kind of numbers
06:49he did
06:50to basically be in the rotation all year long.
06:53I think he got skipped maybe once or twice.
06:57But, you know, in this day and age, for a starter to put up double-digit wins, to put up
07:02an ERA under four,
07:04to basically have a strikeout per inning and to go over 150 innings, I mean, that's a quality, quality season.
07:11And, you know, for a young guy like Leiter, even more so.
07:16But I think that given where Jack is, depending upon how effective he can make that cutter that he's throwing
07:25more now in spring training,
07:28if that allows him to, as he's talked about before, get deeper into games, rather than being a five-inning
07:36guy,
07:37maybe being a six-inning guy who occasionally goes into the seventh, that's something that's going to help preserve him,
07:43maybe get him a higher innings pitch count, maybe a little bit of a breather as far as the bullpen
07:50is concerned.
07:51It could be helpful all the way around.
07:53But a Jack Leiter who takes another step or two forward here in 2026 is something that's going to benefit
07:59the entire pitching staff.
08:00Hixey, do you think McCutcheon's the lock to make the roster?
08:02And what type of impact can he have?
08:05Ooh.
08:06You know, that's a loaded question.
08:09You know, a guy like Andrew McCutcheon, who's been an all-star, what, five, six times, whatever it has been
08:15in his career,
08:16and the guy who's put up some really serious numbers, although those numbers here in recent years,
08:22being back with Pittsburgh, have been down.
08:25But, I mean, he's off to a flying start here in spring training after the Rangers signed him late.
08:31I think he's got 17 plate appearances, and he's been on safely like 12 times.
08:36So those numbers are impressive, and you say, all right, well, he's definitely going to get one of those bench
08:44spots.
08:44But I think there are some other guys that have done really well.
08:49In a situation like this, I don't know as though what you've done in six or seven games in spring
08:55training
08:55with quite a bit of it being against minor league pitching that you're not going to see during the regular
09:00season
09:01maybe sticks out as much as what the body of work has been over the course of one's career.
09:06And, of course, when you talk about that, McCutcheon kind of leads the way,
09:10even, you know, over a guy like Mark Canna, Tyler Wade, to be sure.
09:15Or guys that we saw last year like Michael Hellman and Alejandro Osuna.
09:20But it's hard to deny what McCutcheon has done here so far in spring training.
09:27So I don't want to say he's the leading candidate for what is probably the final spot on the bench,
09:33but he has certainly put his name up near the top of that list.
09:37And, you know, I think pretty much the bench is going to be all right-handed,
09:43save for the switch hitting Sam Haggerty, who essentially functions as a right-handed hitter as well.
09:49But, boy, to have a guy like McCutcheon and his resume on your bench and swinging the bat like he
09:56is right now
09:57is a feather in C-wise cap.
10:00Okay, if you're looking for a catalyst to make this offense spring back to life
10:05after a couple of disappointing seasons, would you go with young guys like Osuna and Hellman,
10:10and maybe you still consider Evan Carter and Josh Young in that group,
10:13like getting it together to such an extent that it changes the identity of the Rangers?
10:19Or would you go with the new veterans there with McCutcheon and Jansen and Nemo?
10:27Yeah, the fact that you talked about those veterans, those guys can be leaders in a variety of ways.
10:35And I feel like in terms of energy that Brandon Nemo has brought that to this ball club and to
10:42this lineup.
10:43So I think I would attend to the latter there and say that those guys are the ones that can
10:52really help
10:53to get this offense turned around, you know, add in Jake Berger into the mix as well,
10:59a guy who has, you know, has not been the kind of producer on offense that he knows that he
11:05can be,
11:05that that's where it's going to come from.
11:07I would like to see Josh Young get to start this season, number one, healthy.
11:12You know, he's been back now a few days and for him to be healthy going into the start of
11:16the season
11:17and to not have, and I'm sure he doesn't mind having the pressure,
11:22but to not have the pressure of having to be one of the guys.
11:27And, and, and just understand that you're part, you're one cog in the wheel
11:32and you don't have to be the big wheel all the time.
11:36And I think Nemo at the top of the order, you know, Jansen probably getting about half of the playing
11:42time
11:42and a guy like a McCutcheon or Canna, you know, coming off the bench to be able to,
11:47to help lead these younger guys and, and to mold them.
11:52You know, when, when Evan Carter came up late in 2023 and all of a sudden he was the man,
11:57so many people have looked to him to be the guy, to, to, to be the catalyst.
12:02I, it would be good if at the start of the season, he was just another one of the guys
12:06getting regular at bats and being productive as opposed to being, oh, we've, we've got to have
12:12productivity from Evan Carter or we're just going to go nowhere.
12:15Man, if they get productivity from Evan Carter, that would be something.
12:19Having a good spring.
12:20Are you more confident in his health or hitting lefties moving forward?
12:26Right now I'm more confident in his health.
12:28I think he's had better at bats this spring against lefties than what we saw from him
12:33last year at any time.
12:35And so I think that perhaps that can come along, but once the regular season starts,
12:41you know, on, unless he's proven productive right out of the gate against lefties,
12:47I think, you know, Sam Haggerty is going to see some playing time in Evan Carter's stead
12:51and that's okay.
12:54But I think ultimately the Rangers want Evan Carter to be an everyday guy, but with the
13:00lineup that we have right now, the pressure isn't there for him to have to be that everyday
13:07guy.
13:08And, you know, the fact that Ezekiel Duran's bat has come to life here in the last, you
13:14know, week to 10 days is an encouraging sign.
13:19And it's always encouraging in spring training to see the guys fighting for spots, all doing
13:23really well.
13:25And that's what's happening right now.
13:27So just to answer your question, I think we need to look to the veterans to be the leaders
13:32in that regard.
13:33And by the way, if you haven't talked to Nimmo yet, he'll bring energy to the broadcast
13:37as well.
13:38Just wind him up on a subject and he's going to take that thing and run with it.
13:42Yeah, no question.
13:44The couple of weekends that I've been in the clubhouse, of course, Nimmo wasn't playing
13:49early on, so I didn't see him.
13:51And then when he started playing, he kind of just poked his head in there.
13:54So I haven't had a chance really to talk to him.
13:57But one guy that I had the opportunity to talk to that I think we're probably going to
14:01see, maybe not at the outset of the season, but certainly at some point during the year
14:05is the catcher, Willie McIver, who is a blast to talk to, very energetic, willing to talk
14:13about a number of topics.
14:16And right now, he is, I believe, the Ranger team leader in terms of ABS percentage overturns,
14:27overturned calls.
14:28And I actually talked to him about that last week, and he feels like he's much better at
14:38judging the strike zone when he's catching as opposed to when he's hitting.
14:42Very interesting, Matt.
14:44We can't thank you enough for your time and your baseball insights.
14:47Look forward to hearing you next Thursday on the opening day call.
14:51And between now and then, have a great time, man.
14:54We'll catch you with me soon.
14:55Thanks, guys.
14:56Appreciate it.
14:56There he goes, Matt Hicks, Rangers announcer here on your Home of the Rangers, 105.3 The
15:02Fan.
15:02And there's a guy for you.
15:03Can't wait for the uncomfortable clubhouse conversation with McIver.
15:07Yeah, I know.
15:08We were looking for him when we were in there.
15:10Unfortunately, he was never, it was, our stars did not align, but we were told by some birdies.
15:15Yeah, McIver's one of those guys.
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