Road to being an All-Star not straight for Latz

By Josh Ortega

The 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star Game took center stage in Philadelphia this week between the American League All-Stars and the National League All-Stars at Citizens Bank Park. The AL All-Stars beat the NL All-Stars 4-0 with North Texas having a lone representative with Rangers across his jersey.

Texas Rangers left-handed pitcher Jacob Latz was selected to the American League All-Star team in this year’s Midsummer Classic. Latz is one of five relief pitchers named to the roster for the 30-year-old; it is his first selection as an All-Star. He’s also the seventh straight Rangers pitcher since 2018 to be named an All-Star. 

Latz was named the best American League and National League Reliever of the Month in June. He recorded a league high 11 saves to go along with 22 strikeouts in 13 appearances for the Rangers in the month of June. He helped the Rangers close out their second-highest win total of the season so far, winning 13 games, ending the month winning five straight games. For the former 2017 fifth-round pick out of Kent State, the road to being an All-Star has been all but straight. 

Coming out of high school in Illinois, Latz was named the 2014 Illinois Player of the Year during his senior season, setting multiple school records along the way. Latz committed to play at LSU but only made seven appearances with three starts for the Tigers, seeing action during his second year, helping LSU become Regional Champions and reach the Super Regionals of the 2016 College World Series. 

Latz transferred to Kent State in 2017 but had to sit out a year due to NCAA transfer rules at the time. He would ultimately never get a chance to suit up for the Golden Flashes. As mentioned previously, he was selected by the Rangers in the fifth round that summer and spent seven seasons in the minors before making his pro debut in 2021. 

However, even after that, Latz would steadily spend time in between the pros and minors. This season has been one where Latz has slowly carved out a role within the clubhouse for the Rangers while juggling multiple other roles across the year. 

During the Rangers’ 4-2 win in Kansas City over the Royals in mid-June, Latz came in and didn’t allow a hit or run through two innings with a 1.69 ERA with three saves. Texas Rangers Manager Skip Schumaker gave praise to his reliever on how little Latz had to work and showed what he was made of during the win.

“He’s a stud: high leverage, lefty, righty, it doesn’t matter. Coming out of spring training, we had no idea what this was going to look like. We knew we loved the kid and the arm, but we didn’t know if it was going to be seventh inning or eighth and ninth inning now,” said Schumaker. “He had 20 pitches to work with or we were bringing in another pitcher, and he showed you what he is made of.” 

In an interview with Rangers Sports Network after his selection, Latz reflected on what this season has been for him across his journey to become an All-Star. 

“I think it kind of all just served a good purpose coming into this role this year,” Latz said the day after the All-Star rosters were announced. “Doing a little bit of everything has given me a different lens to look at pitching through: starting, relieving, long relieving, leveraging innings, getting sent down, all that. So, I think it all served me well for those high-pressure situations where I am able to go out there and take it all in.”

He added: “I really just want to take the time to thank God for the journey I have been put on through this. To represent and give my glory to Him because that and my family, who have supported me along the way, I don’t think I would be standing here today.” 

Heading into the All-Star break, the Rangers find themselves 48-47 in first place in the AL West as the second half of the season is set to begin at the end of this week. A year ago, it was a different story. 

Around this time last year, the Rangers found themselves third in the AL West, multiple games behind the top spot. 

After starting the season hot out of the gate, the Rangers have used the early summer months to maintain their lead in the division while continuing to heat up as temperatures stay high. After one win in the first four games to start July, the Rangers have rattled off four wins in their last six. After Latz and the rest of the All-Star faces in the midsummer classic, the Rangers will head to Atlanta to face the Braves at the end of this week before heading back home to Globe Life Field for a pair of series against the visiting Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners.