This morning I wrote about how the Rangers had to be considering removing Tanner Scheppers from the rotation given his awful performance through four starts and now they’ve placed him on the disabled list with elbow inflammation. According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com an MRI exam revealed no structural damage, but he’ll be shut down for at least 10 days.
Scheppers’ velocity has been down 2.5 miles per hour compared to last season, but that’s likely due mostly to shifting from the bullpen to the rotation and his average fastball of 93.8 miles per hour is still pretty damn fast.
However, after throwing 77 innings with a 1.88 ERA as a full-time reliever last season Scheppers coughed up 20 runs in 18 innings as a starter this year, which is not what the Rangers had in mind after naming him their Opening Day starter despite zero big-league starts under his belt.
Left-hander Matt Harrison is fairly close to coming off the disabled list to make his season debut, but if the Rangers need a fill-in starter for 1-2 more turns in the rotation Double-A right-hander Nick Martinez could get the nod.