It’s no secret that velocity is one of baseball’s most prized commodities. It’s not everything, but it’s one of the surest ways to neutralize the game’s premier sluggers. And it’s why pitchers who can light up radar guns will get plenty of chances to succeed.
When that velocity comes from the left side, however, its value skyrockets. In 2026, just six minor league southpaws threw a fastball that touched triple-digits. Two—Jefry Yan and Brandon Clarke—reached those heights with four- and two-seam heaters.
And that’s where the Rangers come into play. Flash forward a couple of years, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that Texas has cornered the market on flame-throwing lefties. In fact, they could have four lefthanders with triple-digit fastballs—Gio Rojas, Brody Bumila, Enyel Lopez and Breyner Figuereo—in the same rotation at Low-A Hickory.
Two, Rojas and Bumila, joined the Rangers this past draft and were two of the top-ranked high school arms in the 2026 class. They now rank fourth and 10th in the team’s system Top 30, respectively. Lopez, meanwhile, was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2025. Figuereo signed with the Cubs as an outfielder in 2025 but was released after one season in the Dominican Summer League. The Rangers signed him and converted him to the mound, and he showed tremendous upside in a return to the DSL.
Bumila and Lopez have already brought their fastballs past 100 mph, and Figuereo and Rojas are just a few clicks away. Figuereo, Rojas and Lopez all are likely to spend significant time on the Rangers’ backfields in Surprise, Ariz., with promotions to Low-A possible toward the end of summer if everything goes well.
The fourth member of that quartet, Bumila, will require a bit more patience, but the payoff could be huge. After drawing hordes of scouts to his games at Bishop Feehan High School in Massachusetts, the tall lefthander’s elbow frayed, requiring Tommy John surgery. The operation was the second on Bumila’s elbow, as in 2025, he had an internal brace procedure that cost him his junior season. Here’s what we wrote about him prior to the draft:
“While Bumila’s durability is a factor, the extra-tall lefthander returned healthy in 2026 and overpowered hitters with his fastball, which sits in the mid-to-upper 90s and has reached 101 mph. He gets great extension from a low release height, generating good armside run on his fastball and allowing it to jump on hitters even faster than they’re expecting. Bumila leaned extremely heavily on his fastball this spring, but when he wants to change speeds, his best secondary pitch is his changeup. His change-of-pace has good sink and separation off his fastball and projects as a potentially above-average-or-better pitch.”
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“For a young pitcher his size, Bumila pitches with an impressive ease of operation on the mound, is a solid strike-thrower for his age and attacks hitters to both sides of the plate, showing a willingness to pitch inside with his fastball far more aggressively than most high school prospects.“
The Tommy John surgery will likely keep Bumila sidelined until 2028, when Rojas, Lopez and Figuereo should be mainstays of the Low-A rotation in Hickory. If he checks all the boxes during his rehab process and passes all his tests in Arizona, Bumila could join his fellow fireballers at L.P. Frans Stadium later in the summer.
A lot of projection is required if this scenario is to become reality. Bumila’s stuff has to remain intact after surgery. Figuereo and Rojas have to find those last few ticks of velocity needed to join the century club. All four pitchers must stay in the organization and perform well enough to advance to full-season ball on similar timelines.
If all those boxes are checked, however, the Rangers will have a collection of lefthanded heat not often seen in the minor leagues.
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