Texas Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom is finally healthy and dominating again. The veteran has dealt with non-stop injury problems over the last few seasons, but he's now at 100%, which is great news for the 2023 World Series champions.
While his first start with the Rangers came at the beginning of '23, he's set an impressive franchise record, surpassing Nolan Ryan.
Via Jared Sandler:
“Through deGrom's first 10 career starts with the Rangers, he registered 12.72 K/9, the highest ever by a Rangers pitcher through his first 10 starts with the team. 12.72 – Jacob deGrom, 11.23 – Nolan Ryan”
deGrom has always been known as a strikeout pitcher, so this doesn't exactly come as a surprise. He's struck out 65 hitters in 46 innings of work for the Rangers since joining in the '23 offseason. In 2025, deGrom has made one start, throwing five frames of scoreless baseball while striking out six.
There's no question that he will be the ace of this staff if he stays off the IL. He was only limited to five innings last Sunday, but that was deGrom's return from injury. The Rangers plan to let him go six or seven innings in his next start, which is going to be on Saturday evening against the Tampa Bay Rays.
deGrom admitted there was some nerves in his return from Tommy John, but he quickly settled in against the Boston Red Sox.
Via MLB.com:
“I get jitters every time I take the mound,” deGrom said. “I have a hard time eating that day, I get super nervous. It is what it is. It’s just about wanting to go out there and compete at a high level. I'm always pretty anxious the day I pitch. So the jitters won't be gone, but now it's just about locking in on those mechanics and trusting the stuff.”
He'll be looking to rack up some more strikeouts versus Tampa.