This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry’s Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
ARLINGTON -- If you ask Owen White, he'll say he could have slept just fine after finding out he was being called up to the big leagues.
Double-A Frisco manager Carlos Cardoza had called him around midnight on Monday, letting him know he would need to be in Arlington on Tuesday to make his MLB debut. And if it were just up to him, White probably would’ve slept like a baby even after the big news.
“I tried [to sleep], but my wife kept keeping me up,” White said jokingly. “So just about every time I would doze off, she'd always go, ‘I can't sleep.’ I was like, ‘Well, I can sleep, so let me.’ No, no. It was an adventure to get here for sure. I was a little panicky, but we got here.”
White, Texas' No. 2 prospect, eventually got some rest before driving the 354 miles from Fayetteville, Ark. -- where the RoughRiders were playing -- to Arlington to make his debut.
The Rangers were in a bind, with Jon Gray scratched from Tuesday's start due to a blister and Texas using five relievers in Monday's extra-inning loss to the Angels. White, a Double-A righty who was added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft last offseason, was an available arm.
The No. 47 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, White rose to the occasion, despite allowing three runs in two innings of relief work. He did so in front of more than 40 family and friends from his hometown in North Carolina and elsewhere across the south in Georgia and Alabama.
“It's a blessing,” White said postgame. “God gave me this opportunity. I didn't do as best I could. I made one mistake [a home run to Hunter Renfroe], but I felt like I was under control and hopefully I capitalized a little bit.”
When recalling his drive to Arlington, White said he didn’t eat much aside from some fruit. He actually still hadn’t eaten by the time he spoke to the media postgame. White also ran into a little bit of rain on the way, thanks to severe weather in the North Texas area, but he made it just in time, using the six hours on the road to clear his mind a bit.
“I had cold chills the whole car ride out here from Fayetteville,” White said. “I think that car ride actually helped me out a lot though, because once I got here, I knew it was game time and put on your game face and go out there and play.
“I also had those 40 people on the stands calling me about every five minutes, that helped me out a lot. Again, just being able to even play baseball is a blessing. So I've got to give all the glory to God. I mean, it’s just a whirlwind right now, but it’s started coming back.”
White has had a long journey to the Majors, including the delay of his professional debut thanks to Tommy John surgery in May 2019 and a lost Minor League season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in '20. In his first start of '21, White broke his pitching hand when he slammed it on the ground after making an error, which sidelined him for three more months.
But ever since he got healthy, White has been every bit the pitcher the Rangers expected when they selected him in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of high school. He may even be a little bit more than what was expected.
White was named the Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Year in 2021, then he posted a 3.59 ERA between High-A Hickory and Double-A Frisco in '22. Before being called up, White had gone 2-3 with a 3.54 ERA in 11 starts for the RoughRiders with 45 strikeouts and 22 walks in 53 1/3 innings this season.
“It's been a battle through TJ and breaking my hand and just grinding out the Minor League life,” White said. “I mean, I hope I proved something and hopefully I can stay up here and keep grinding out outings and help this team a lot.”