This Texas Rangers Prospect Flying Under Arizona Fall League Radar

There was a time when Texas Rangers pitching prospect Marc Church seemed like he was on a fast track to the Majors. But a rotator cuff problem this season slowed him down.

The Arizona Fall League gives him a chance to speed things up again.

MLB Pipeline recently wrote about under-the-radar prospects for each team in the AFL and the site selected Church, the former 18th round pick out of Atlanta, Ga., in 2019.

At one time a top 30 prospect in the organization, he fell out of the rankings this season after a tepid follow-up to his blistering 2023.

Last year with Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, he went a combined 9-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 43 appearances (two starts). He struck out 79 and walked 38 in 62 innings. He also had two saves in three chances, along with three holds.

It was enough to give the Rangers the belief that Church could emerge as a high-leverage option for them this season, especially after he went 7-1 with Round Rock.

But, nothing quite went right. He went on the seven-day injured list on April 18 and moved to the 60-day IL on May 1 with the strained rotator cuff. He rehabbed with High-A Hickory in August and then returned to Round Rock to finish out the season.

He went 1-1 with a 4.21 ERA in 20 games, with 29 strikeouts and 10 walks in 25 2/3 innings. With Round Rock, his ERA dropped to 3.22.

That was enough for the Rangers to call up Church on Sept. 27 and let him make his MLB debut. He threw one inning of scoreless relief in the season’s penultimate game.

Texas had a decision to make on Church as he was coming up on Rule 5 Draft eligibility. Promoting him now protects him from that draft in December.

To MLB Pipeline, when Church is on, he’s an intriguing bullpen arm:

“Church's athleticism and arm speed enable him to generate mid-90s fastballs with tremendous carry and mid-80s sliders with two-plane depth when he's on.”

The other Rangers at the AFL include top 30 prospects such as outfielder Alejandro Osuna (No. 16), right-handers Josh Stephan (No. 25) and Skylar Hales (No. 29). In addition, there is infielder Max Acosta, third baseman Cody Freeman, left-hander Avery Weems and right-hander Leandro Lopez.