DeGrom steps in for the injured Eovaldi and fires five scoreless innings to fuel a 9-5 win over Oakland, sealing a sweep and an eight-win stretch. Texas leans on depth, with Leiter and Kelly joining deGrom in a reshaped rotation as they chase a postseason berth.

Texas must manage deGrom’s workload to stay fresh for October, while the club hopes its Cy Young-winning absences don’t derail their surge. The Rangers sit atop a strong late-season run and trust their pitching staff to carry the load down the stretch.

Luis Gil leads Week 23 waiver pickups for shallow leagues, offering a safe path to wins and a lower ERA for the Yankees as he works back into form with five-inning starts.

Jonah Tong of the Mets brings high strikeout upside in a six-man rotation, while Jack Leiter and Emmet Sheehan provide solid mid-rotation streaming upside behind strong teams. Kyle Bradish’s return and Braxton Ashcraft’s progression add mixed-risk, high-reward options for varied rosters.

Texas' coaching staff forged a makeshift lineup as Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Nathan Eovaldi sat out, yet the Rangers surged behind unsung heroes like Helman, Langford, Jung, Pederson and Haggerty. Adolis García’s return-to-form and a patient, fast-starting Carter helped the offense while a 3.17 ERA marked steady pitching even with rotation injuries. The club’s wild-card odds flicker, but the depth and baton-passing approach kept them in the chase.

Bochy’s crew leaned on midseason signings and a buy-in from a resilient clubhouse. The narrative shifted from star power to roster churning, with Corbin’s eight-scoreless innings and Leiter’s growing confidence illustrating how the Rangers can survive and even thrive on the margins as Seager and Semien monitor timelines.

Leiter's revamped changeup has become a breakout tool for the Rangers. In six innings against Oakland, he threw 26 changeups—the second-most in the game—sparking whiffs and weak contact while his fastball and curve tightened around it. Bochy calls it a big pitch with growing command, signaling a possible ceiling-raising breakout in Texas.

Dunning's forkball anecdote—spring fodder that some pitchers shelve—highlights how quick tweaks can fade. Leiter's trust in the changeup, plus a faster curve, could unlock a higher strikeout rate and more in-season fantasy value for Rangers starters. The piece frames Leiter as a blueprint for a transformative season.