Jurado was lauded by manager Jeff Banister after the 22-year-old made his MLB debut Saturday in a loss to the White Sox, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. "I will say this: He showed a lot of moxie," Banister said. "He responded very well. He didn't seem affected [by the big inning]. There were a lot of learning experiences out there for him. There were so many positives. We loved what we saw."
The Rangers are going nowhere this season, so bringing in Jurado over a journeyman like Austin Bibens-Dirkx is the clearest sign the organization is preparing for its rebuild. Banister didn't make any announcements following the game, but the Rangers will need a fifth starter Thursday, and his comments came close to endorsing Jurado for that start. The right-hander is a low-level prospect who gets by mostly on his sinker. If he's leaving it up, he'll get tagged, as he did in the third inning Saturday when he allowed all four of his runs. But he recognized that and made the necessary adjustments to give the Rangers another six outs. He's similar to fellow Rangers starter Doug Fister, who has had a 10-year career as a serviceable major-league starter.