Left-hander Jacob Latz is the Texas Rangers’ lone representative at the 2026 All-Star Game, five years after his MLB debut and nine years after he was drafted.
The Jacob Latz All-Star story doesn’t begin at the end of spring training, when he was informed that he had lost out in the battle to be the Texas Rangers‘ fifth starter. Rather than sulk, he channeled his disappointment into some of the finest relief work in the American League.
This isn’t his first time on the road less traveled, encountering potholes and detours since his freshman year of college. Ultimately, missing out on the rotation was just another instance in which his career has been redirected.
It’s been that way since Latz left high school in Illinois. Just getting drafted by the Rangers out of college was a bumpy ride, as injuries, dietary issues and an eligibility issue limited him to only a handful of innings over three seasons at LSU and Kent State.
Even his MLB debut, in 2021, was unusual. He was the Rangers’ starting pitcher only because the team was dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19. Latz didn’t pitch in the majors again until September 2023, just in time to earn a World Series ring.
Tonight, he’s the Rangers’ lone representative at the 96th MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia. He has solved the Rangers’ No. 1 issue entering the season, the lack of a closer, and arguably has been the team’s MVP after going 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA and 18 saves.
“It was a wild ride to get here, for sure,” Latz said. “The journey has been special, and it just feels good to represent his team as the All-Star nod. It’s been a longer journey, but it definitely paid off. You know, it’s just getting started, really.”
He might not have just solved a 2026 Rangers problem but one for seasons to come. Latz is under the club’s contractual control through at least 2030, so he might preemptively be putting the annual offseason questions about the closer’s role into hibernation.
Though he was vying to be a starter in spring training, he can’t get enough of closing. Nothing matches the adrenaline rush of recording the final three outs of a game and shaking hands with the catcher after closing out a win.
Latz was on the path to being a starter when he arrived at LSU in 2015 but was sidelined by a stress reaction in his elbow. It never stopped barking, which seemed to mystify the LSU coaching staff, and he also developed chronic digestive issues that required dramatic changes to his diet.
He ended up at Kent State in 2016 and intended to pitch in 2017, but the NCAA ruled he was required to redshirt rather than play after transferring. Latz was able to get healthy and throw bullpen sessions, though, and the Rangers selected him in the fifth round of the 2017 draft.
That was nine years ago, and though only 30, Latz is a little on the older side for an MLB player with just more than one year of service time. He’s a late-bloomer, especially as a closer. While he did pitch in relief some while in the minors, it was never as a closer.
“Not a traditional path to get to the closer role, either,” he said. “I think a lot of people at least were in the minor leagues doing relief and getting closing opportunities, and I didn’t really have that.”
He’s effective late because he has a starter’s repertoire rather than the traditional two-pitch power mix many closers feature. Latz throws hard, no doubt, but he can also spin two breaking balls and a changeup that forces hitters to consider more than just a heater and a slider.
That mix had him in contention for the rotation in spring training, but the Rangers went with Kumar Rocker. Part of the decision had to do with Latz’s versatility in the bullpen, where he could work multiple innings while also being a high-leverage one-inning reliever.
His first appearance, though, was as a spot starter in the season’s second game at Philadelphia, where he tossed four innings while Jacob deGrom dealt with neck stiffness. Injuries also knocked Robert Garcia and Chris Martin from the closing mix.
Latz locked down his first save April 25 and has been a weapon not many teams have. The Rangers have asked Latz to get at least four outs for half of his saves.
“He could have easily been the fifth starter, and now he’s been the most effective, biggest weapon out of the bullpen for us,” Schumaker said.
The Rangers hope to curtail Latz’s multi-inning saves, as they can keep him down for the next two games. He’s also one of the biggest reasons why the Rangers are in first place in the American League West at the All-Star break, and it’s tempting to use him for four, five or six outs.
Seemingly on a path to buying at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, the Rangers will again seek bullpen help. But they don’t need a closer. That job belongs to Latz, who has taken a long road to becoming an All-Star.
“He’s been just lights out,” Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young said. “It hasn’t been a smooth road for him, and at no point has he felt sorry for himself, has he given up. He’s continued to believe in himself, he’s continued to work hard, he’s continued to improve, and now we’ve got a major-league All-Star pitching at the back end of games for us.”
Jeff Wilson, jwilson@alldlls.com
