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Texas Rangers starting pitcher Patrick Corbin has had a resurgent season in 2025 after being synonymous with the worst pitcher in baseball for the last four to five years.
Coming fresh off the end of a six-year, $140 million deal with the Washington Nationals that seemed to be one of the worst long-term deals in modern baseball history, he’s back to his pre-2020 self this year thanks to the Rangers’ pitching lab.
It looked like Corbin might have a hard time keeping a spot on a big league roster coming into 2025, but he’s shown that he’s still got some strong innings left in the tank. He signed a one-year, $1.1 million deal with the Rangers to be a solid veteran arm in their rotation, and he’s done more than was likely expected from him.
Stats updated prior to games on June 15.
Waning Success in Washington
After the 2018 season, Corbin, coming off a long tenure with the Arizona Diamondbacks, signed a six-year, $140 million extension with the Nationals, and initial returns showed that the signing might be one of the better-valued pitcher contracts.
Corbin’s 2019 season was incredible, as he sported a 3.25 ERA over 202 innings with the fourth-highest strikeout total in MLB. However, he was third in strikeouts on his own team, as Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg also contributed amazing performances.
The Nationals won the World Series in 2019 on the backs of surging young talent and this three-headed monster in their starting rotation, and Corbin’s performance down the stretch was invaluable to their run for the title. He threw 10 innings and only allowed four runs in the World Series with a 13.9 K/9 rate throughout their playoff run. It’s safe to say he had a great first year in the nation’s capital.
The rest of Corbin’s tenure in Washington, however, was a nightmare, to say the least. Between the years 2020 and 2024, Corbin was attributed with 70 losses, 21 more than second-place Luis Castillo of the Reds and Mariners.
Among pitchers with 600+ innings across those five seasons, his horrendous 1.6 HR/9 was the very worst, as was his fWAR of 4.7.
Corbin regularly sat at the bottom of the league in several categories. For instance, he led the league in losses three times, in hits surrendered three times, in earned runs three times, and in home runs surrendered once.
Suffice it to say, Patrick Corbin was undoubtedly the worst pitcher to receive regular playing time over this stretch and was concurrently on one of the worst contracts in the league. But something about this new experience with the Texas Rangers seems to have sparked something in him.
Terrific in Texas
The Rangers have won five of Corbin’s 12 starts in 2025, but out of the seven losses in these starts, he has surrendered three or more runs just three times.
Corbin’s strikeout rate is down to 6.3 K/9 in 2025, but he’s allowing significantly fewer hits than in previous seasons. His H/9 rate sat at an average of 10.9 over his last five seasons in Washington, and it’s down to just 7.9 through 12 starts in Texas, so clearly something’s working for him this year.
His 5.62 average ERA over his last five years as a National has been lowered by almost two full runs this season, as it currently sits at a mark of 3.66. Corbin has been consistent and effective for Texas, including an eight-inning outing in which the Rangers lost 2-0 to Corbin’s former team.
Corbin has been locating his pitches like a madman in 2025, putting 47% of his pitches at the edge of the zone, where the league average is just 39%. Perhaps increased command was the secret to unlocking success out on the mound for the veteran southpaw.
He might have a lower fWAR (0.4) than several of his fellow Rangers starters this season, but Texas has the league’s second-best team ERA, so that’s hardly a knock against Corbin.
Coming into Corbin’s start in Minnesota on Thursday, Texas had been outscored 35-40 in his outings, but the bats came alive and provided 16 runs of support in a 16-3 rout of the Twins.
Texas is 35-36 on the season and sits just 1.5 games back of the third AL Wild Card spot, and Corbin’s valuable performance as a solid back-end starter has been invaluable.
Texas’ rotation is reaching its ceiling, having been one of the league’s best so far this season. While two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom is turning back the clock and veterans Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle are pitching fantastically, Corbin’s stability every five games has been a source of success on the young season thus far.
Repertoire Changes
Corbin hasn’t necessarily made any huge changes to his pitch arsenal, but he did revamp his changeup quite a bit. He is throwing it on average 3.1 mph slower than he did last season and with 3.3 more inches of vertical drop than average, compared to -1.4 fewer inches of drop than average last year.
This could be because he’s taking a different approach to the purpose of his changeup now. Knocking over 500 rpm off his changeup from 2024 to 2025, he is using the pitch like more of a low-spin-rate splitter.
Among lefties with 750 pitches or more this season, Corbin’s changeup has the sixth-best active spin rate in all of MLB (97.9%). This refers to the percentage of the pitch’s spin that contributes to its movement or break, meaning that his changeup is one of the most efficient of its type in baseball this year in terms of movement.
Corbin’s six-pitch mix also includes a slider, sinker, four-seam fastball, cutter, and an incredibly slow curveball. Among qualified pitchers, his 68.4 mph looping curveball is the slowest in all of baseball this year.
Last season, Corbin’s slider was his only pitch to allow a batting average against of less than .300, but in 2025 his changeup and four-seam fastball are his only pitches with an opponents’ batting average above .300. These pitches compose less than 10% of his arsenal this year, so he’s limiting opposing bats at a strong rate.
Patrick Corbin is coming hot off one of the worst stretches we’ve seen a pitcher go through in recent memory, and it’s definitely going to take some time for him to rebound in a sufficient way to completely put his last five seasons behind him. However, the Texas Rangers have received some of his best this season, and he’s played an important role in their successes in 2025.
More must-reads:
- Rangers playoff hopes continue to be decimated by injuries
- Phillies' Kyle Schwarber makes all kinds of MLB history vs. Braves
- The 'Active 20-home run MLB seasons' quiz
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TODAY'S BEST
Former Yankees Closer Turns Career Around with Rival Club
Rebounding from adversity is not an easy thing to do, but it seems that a former New York Yankees powerhouse pitcher has done it. Ex-Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has turned his career around completely after a bad ending in New York. The “Cuban Missile” was once seen to be a specimen of a reliever until mental and physical struggles prevailed. When discussing adversity, Chapman went through it from the start. Being a Cuban national, his baseball career was already uncertain. Chapman defected from Cuba and made his way to the United States, where he became a star with the Cincinnati Reds. The big lefty’s adversities continued, as he was faced with a severe injury after being hit in the head with a line drive back to the mound. He then signed a huge deal with the Yankees in 2015 and became a superstar. The left-hander spent seven total seasons with the Yankees in two stints. Some were memorable, some were forgettable. Chapman’s last few seasons in the Bronx were not ones to remember. It is now 2025, and he is reborn as a trustworthy closer in Boston. From the Bronx to Boston: Aroldis Chapman’s Career Resurgence Aroldis Chapman was a three-time All-Star with the Yankees. His role as a closer was solidified, and in all three of those All-Star seasons, Chapman recorded 30-plus saves. Where did things go downhill? Well, in two instances: when hitters figured out his pitch repertoire, and when his maturity got in the way of his performance. Chapman was a rocket fastballer, which is why he was labelled a “missile.” He got up to 102 mph, and stayed almost consistently in the triple-digits. At one point, it seemed that his sole reliance was on his velocity, which didn’t last long. 102 mph in was 111 mph out, if caught flat in the zone, which was typically the case. In 2021 and 2024, his hard-hit percentage was over 40%. Command was also an issue for the left-hander, as wild pitches and bases-on-balls were consistent. Chapman maintained a walk percentage above 14% for five seasons dating back to 2018. He was not only with the Yankees in this span, but also spent time with the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Chapman’s maturity was testing the Yankees organization. The structured environment was breached many times by immature and selfish decisions by Chapman. The closer got a tattoo in-season, which caused an infection, disallowing his activity. He was also defiant, deciding to skip mandatory team workouts based on his own thought process. Chapman was later disregarded and put up on the trade market. Fast forward to the present day, where Chapman closes for the Boston Red Sox, and has made changes. Chapman’s Present-Day Self is Valuable Now 37 years of age, Chapman’s overall character has leveled out to be a competitor, good teammate, and effective closer. He has been kept in line by a strict Red Sox environment. His performance has followed suit as well. From 2018 to 2024, Chapman’s walk rate averaged around 14%. In 2025, he currently holds a 7% rate, slashing that average in half. He maintains his velocity, increasing up to 105 mph and clocking consistently at 103 mph. Age has not ruined this feature. Chapman has improved his repertoire, commanding the fastball better, staying in and out of the zone. He also incorporated a splitter and is utilizing his sinker and slider more effectively. Chapman currently holds a 1.04 ERA with 26 saves, 74 strikeouts, 14 walks, and a 4-2 record in 52 innings pitched. The southpaw closer has revived his profile and is in the running for a postseason opportunity on the dark side (for Yankees fans, anyway) of the American League East.
Jerry Jones again proves he shouldn't be making decisions for Cowboys
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Ranking U.S. Ryder Cup pairings by how much you would hate to play with them
If you're an avid golfer, you know the anxiety-inducing feeling of showing up to your local muni as a twosome on a busy Sunday afternoon. The twosome you get paired with can make or break your entire weekend. Since captain Keegan Bradley finalized the U.S. Ryder Cup roster on Wednesday, let's have some fun by ranking the three worst duos you would hate to be paired with on the golf course. 3. Cameron Young and Harris English Getting paired with Young and English would be a bore fest from the first tee to the 18th green. The introductory handshakes and the occasional "nice shot" would be the only interactions you get from them all day. You'll spend the entire round debating whether they're 25 or 45. At some point, you'll ask your buddy if they're even friends. Sure, it would be a treat to watch Young bomb majestic high draws 350 yards and English drain multiple 30-footers with ease, but that's where the fun would stop. The over/under for the number of smiles cracked between the two of them might be set at 2.5. 2. Collin Morikawa and Sam Burns Morikawa just doesn't seem like a good hang this year. From multiple quarrels with the media to a handful of caddie switches in the span of a few months, Morikawa has been too high-strung and paranoid in 2025. He'd be quick to blame you for a poor drive because you blinked too aggressively in his backswing. No thank you. Burns is on the other end of the spectrum in that he'll keep to himself and pretend not to know Morikawa very well. He'll throw out a "Sorry about him, he's having a tough year" to ease the tension, but his personality isn't bubbly enough to offset Morikawa's bad vibes. 1. Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele Cantlay would be the absolute worst-case scenario as a random pairing. You'd think his minute-long pitter-patter over the ball on the first tee was a one-time exercise to ease his nerves, but you quickly realize it's a steady feature of his pre-shot routine. Even though he's hitting the fewest shots, he's taking the longest time to hit them. The groups behind you start to pile up. At one point, the impatient union worker behind you hits into your group to send a message. Cantlay doesn't care. Five hours later, you finally finish up on 18. The group that was in front of you all day is already on their second beverage at the clubhouse bar. In an age when pace of play is just as important as your final score, Cantlay would be a nightmare pairing.
Eagles 'Expected' To Sign Former 4th-Round Patriots WR
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