Round Rock Express LHP Jake Latz Promoted to Texas Rangers

ROUND ROCK, Texas – Welcome to The Show, Jake! The Texas Rangers announced on Wednesday afternoon that the club has selected the contract of Round Rock Express LHP Jake Latz. The lefty is scheduled to make his major league debut with a start on Wednesday night as the Rangers face the Cleveland Indians at 6:10 p.m. at Progressive Field.

Latz made just two starts with Round Rock after joining the E-Train from the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders on August 10. He allowed six runs, only three of which were earned, on eight hits in 5.0 innings during his Triple-A debut on August 10 against Sugar Land at Dell Diamond, striking out four and walking two along the way. In his most recent outing, Latz allowed four runs on six hits in 4.0 frames of an August 17 start at Oklahoma City. In total, he posted no record with a 7.00 ERA (7 ER/9.0 IP), nine strikeouts and four walks against his Triple-A competition.

The 25-year-old logged 15 games, including 13 starts, with Frisco prior to joining Round Rock, going 1-1 with a 4.69 ERA (33 ER/63.1 IP). He tallied 84 strikeouts to just 28 walks while limiting his Double-A opponents to a .233 average and a 1.31 WHIP. Latz posted a streak of 20.1 consecutive scoreless innings across four appearances with the RoughRiders from May 12 through June 1, allowing just four hits and four walks while striking out 20 in that span.

Latz was originally selected by the Texas Rangers in the fifth round of the 2017 June draft after competing collegiately at Louisiana State and Kent State. In four total seasons at the minor league level, the Lemont, Illinois native has pitched to a 14-5 career record with a 3.65 ERA (84 ER/207.0 IP) in 45 games, including 41 starts. Latz has racked up 239 career strikeouts with only 83 walks to go along with a .219 lifetime opponent batting average and 1.21 WHIP.

Following Wednesday’s league-wide off-day, the Round Rock Express open a six-game road series against the Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado Rockies affiliate) on Thursday, August 26 at 7:35 p.m. CT. The E-Train returns home to Dell Diamond on Thursday, September 9 to open a six-game homestand against the Sugar Land Skeeters (Houston Astros affiliate) at 7:05 p.m.

Single game tickets are on sale now. For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!