Robbie Ross wasn't the top choice by prognosticators to make the big-league club in Arlington out of spring training. There were more proven guys like Yoshi Tateyama and Michael Kirkman trying to earn a bullpen spot.
And all of those more proven guys failed as Ross snatched the job as a 22-year-old, aw-shucks rookie from Kentucky as the only left-handed pitcher in the Rangers bullpen.
In his last 10 outings, all but one of which were at least an inning and four of which were at least two, Ross has given up just one earned run and continues to be both a crutch in bad situations and someone to lean on in mid-inning leverage situations.
Now, it might be time to give Ross a shot at a spot start. Make no mistake, the youngster wasn't drafted to be a relief pitcher. In fact, if here were in the minors, where many thought he'd be at this point, he'd be starting ballgames. The Rangers are loaded when it comes to young pitching in their system, and his future in Arlington might never include being a full-time starter but with the recent run of Scott Feldman taking the place of the injured Neftali Feliz, anything sounds like a better option right now.
Ross is 5-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 31 innings of work this season.
Feldman gave up eight runs and failed to get out of the second inning against one of the worst offenses in the game on Monday as the Rangers went on to lose to the Oakland A's, 12-1.
Ross has proven he deserves a spot on the big-league roster, now it might be time to give him a shot to prove he can be counted on in a desperate situation.
