During Spring Training, the Texas Rangers' fifth starter competition was always seen as a battle between the eventual winner, Kumar Rocker, and Jacob Latz, who has turned into an All-Star closer.

However, that didn’t stop veteran right-hander Cal Quantrill from throwing his name in the hat and trying to win the spot.

Although after a tough Spring Training and World Baseball Classic, it didn’t seem like Quantrill would have much to offer Texas in 2026.

With no Major League interest from the Rangers or presumably anyone else, Quantrill began the season with Triple-A Round Rock.

Eventually, Texas needed coverage in the bullpen, and Quantrill was the guy they tasked with giving them some innings early in the season.

Flash forward nearly three months later, and Quantrill has done far more than just give the Rangers innings.

When Jack Leiter went down with an ankle injury that will keep him out until late August at the earliest, it was once again Quantrill who was asked to step into the starting rotation.

Little by little, Quantrill has completed the difficult task of “building up” in the middle of the season, all while never dropping in quality.

On Tuesday night, Quantrill took the ball in game one of the Rangers series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

Coming into play, the Rays featured the best home record in all of baseball and also had the lowest strikeout percentage. 

Despite the numbers not looking like they stacked up in his favor, Quantrill once again delivered, throwing 5.1 innings, allowing just one run and, perhaps more impressively, punching out seven in an eventual 4-1 Texas win.

“I thought we had a good game plan,” Quantrill said after the game. “I thought [Austin Wynns] was great back there. We got ahead in a lot of counts and were able to throw the pitches we wanted to instead of having to come back and throw less interesting choices…”

With his effort on Tuesday night, Quantrill’s season ERA is down to 3.84 through 58.2 innings this season, something almost no one had on their bingo card.

As the Rangers continue to fight for a playoff spot, there’s no denying the role Quantrill has played in helping them get to the position they’re in.

It remains to be seen what Quantrill’s exact role will be down the stretch, as the Rangers will soon get back the likes of Jordan Montgomery, Cody Bradford and eventually Leiter.

However, if one thing is for certain, it’s that if Quantrill continues to get batters out at the rate he has so far this season, he will no doubt be a part of manager Skip Schumaker’s plan moving forward.

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