Rangers' Tyler Mahle: Strikes out five in ACL start

Mahle (elbow) struck out five and allowed one hit and one walk over 2.2 scoreless innings during his rehab start Monday in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League.

Mahle had made his previous two rehab starts at Double-A Frisco, but he shifted his assignment to the ACL this week while all of the Rangers' full-season affiliates are off due to the All-Star break. The right-hander has looked strong thus far in his first three minor-league outings coming back from his May 2023 Tommy John surgery. He has yet to let in a run over 6.2 innings and built his pitch count up to 45 on Monday. Mahle will likely shift his assignment back to a higher-level affiliate over the weekend and will presumably need at least two or three more minor-league outings to get fully stretched out before he becomes a realistic option for the Rangers' rotation.