Tanner Scheppers returned to the mound tonight for Frisco, and I'm hard-pressed to think how his outing could have gone any better. 6 batters faced, 30 pitches, 22 strikes, 4 Ks, 0 hits, 0 walks, 0 runs.
Brandon Webb, on the other hand, was terrible. 36 pitches, 22 for strikes, but he allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and didn't make it out of the first inning, recording just two outs before he was yanked.
Scheppers isn't on the immediate call-up horizon -- having barely pitched this season because of injuries, he's going to have to have several more quality outings before he's a realistic option out of the major league bullpen. Nevertheless, if he can stay healthy, the Rangers almost certainly will give him a shot at a middle relief or setup role at some point in the second half.
As for Webb, it is more of the same. I said I was not going to talk about him anymore, but the surface numbers, anyway, from this outing were so bad they warranted a mention. He can only be out on a rehab assignment for 30 days, and it still looks like he's much farther away than that from being able to contribute in the majors.