GLENDALE, Ariz. - Right-hander Lance Lynn is a beacon of hope for the Rangers' rotation. There is life for pitchers after Tommy John surgery.
Lynn is living proof.
Lynn, with St. Louis, had the surgery after the 2015 season and pitched only 6 2/3 innings in the minors in '16. A year later, he led the National League in starts with 33 and worked 186 1/3 innings.
Lynn is by nature a fastball-throwing workhorse. He has had 175-plus innings in five of the last seven seasons and made 29-plus starts six times in that span.
If the Rangers get anything close to that from right-handers Shelby Miller and Edinson Volquez and left-hander Drew Smyly, all of whom had the same surgery in the last two years, the Rangers will be ahead of the game.