The latest installment in a weekly look at pitching in the Texas Rangers’ minor league system, with all statistics through Monday’s play:

The Rangers have put a new wrinkle into their development program. They are grooming relievers.

For decades, teams followed the plan of having their best pitching prospects start so that they would get the most innings. Organizations would wait to determine if they were starters or relievers.

The Rangers have identified closer types at an earlier stage. Left-hander C.D. Pelham (Double-A Frisco) and right-handers Joe Barlow (Low-A Hickory), Emmanuel Clase (Short-season A Spokane) and Demarcus Evans (Hickory) have all been effective. They have combined for 37 saves in 39 chances.

“We’ve had a big group of guys put together good performances the last two months,” assistant general manager Jayce Tingler said. “They’ve all gone down individual paths. These guys have bloomed. They have big-time power arms and have gained more confidence and understanding of what they’re trying to do.”

A look at each reliever:

-- C.D. Pelham has not had the same success in the Texas League that he did in the Carolina League. He has been inconsistent with the fastball and has allowed 31 base-runners in 17 innings with Frisco. Pelham, 23, could be finding his groove in the final stage of the season. He has no walks and three strikeouts in four scoreless innings for his last four appearances.

-- Demarcus Evans moved to the bullpen this season and changed from a mediocre starter with inconsistent command.

Evans, 21, has 97 strikeouts in 53 innings and has held opponents to a .156 average. He has a mid-90 mph fastball and a hard curveball, which has a velocity in the low-80s.

Command remains an issue. Evans is throwing more strikes, but he has a walks-per-nine-innings rate of 4.58.

-- South Atlantic League hitters rarely have made contact against Joe Barlow, who features a fastball and a 12-to-6 curveball. He has allowed only 19 hits with 77 strikeouts in 57 innings.

The problem is throwing strikes. Barlow, 22, has also allowed 41 walks. He can get away with that at the Low-A level but not much beyond that.

-- The Rangers obtained Emmanuel Clase, 20, from San Diego for catcher-first baseman Brett Nicholas, who has spent the season in the Pacific Coast League. Clase has advanced fastball command, with only five walks and 24 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.

Trending up

RHP A.J. ALEXY: The strikeouts keep coming, with 45 in 33 1/3 innings over his last six starts. The difference in this span is that Alexy, 20, is throwing strikes. He has allowed 2.43 walks per nine innings in this spring. Before this, Alexy averaged 5.37 walks per nine innings. The key for Alexy is keeping an aggressive delivery under control so that he can repeat pitches.

RHP SETH NORDLIN: Spokane has featured strikeout pitchers. Right-hander Hans Crouse led the Short-Season A Northwest League in strikeouts when promoted. Right-hander Seth Nordlin has replaced Crouse. Nordlin, 20, has a league-leading 79 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings. Nordlin also has allowed only 11 walks. Nordlin has three quality pitches: sinking fastball, slider and changeup.

RHP JONATHAN HERNANDEZ: A promotion to Double-A Frisco threw Hernandez for a loop. He went 2-4 with a 7.14 ERA for his first six starts in the Texas League. Hernandez, 22, got his game back together from that low point and is 2-0 with a 1.14 ERA in his last four starts. In those games, Hernandez looked like the pitcher who dominated the High-A Carolina League this season. He has allowed only 13 hits in 23 2/3 innings in the last four starts.

Trending down

RHP WEI-CHIEH HUANG: The transition to the Texas League has not gone well. Huang, acquired from Arizona in the Jake Diekman deal, has allowed multiple runs in five of his seven appearances with Frisco. Huang, 24, has a 6.75 ERA with five homers allowed in 16 innings. The curveball, his top pitch, has lacked bite.

LHP BRETT MARTIN: This will go down as a lost season for Martin. He began the season ranked among the organization's top prospects but regressed with Frisco. Martin, 23, has the highest ERA among Texas Leaguers with 50-plus innings at 6.70. Opponents have pounded his secondary pitches and are hitting .344. The Rangers will stay with Martin because he is young and left-handed, but there is much repair work to be done.

RHP TAI TIEDEMANN: An eighth-round pick in the 2016 draft, Tiedemann returned to the Short-season A Northwest League this season to work on his command. A year ago, Tiedemann had 26 walks in 51 2/3 innings. He has allowed 35 walks in 56 2/3 innings this season. Tiedemann, 22, has a good fastball that he keeps low in the zone, but his secondary pitches need refinement.

On hold

Right-hander Scott Williams was in the forefront of developing relievers last season, when he had a 0.64 ERA with only 20 hits allowed in 42 innings with High-A Down East.

Williams missed this season after undergoing elbow surgery during spring training. The Rangers plan on having Williams join the instructional-league team to monitor his progress and hope he can return next season.

Keep an eye on ...

The Triple-A Pacific Coast League on Monday named right-hander Chris Rowley of Round Rock as its pitcher of the week. Rowley, the West Point graduate, allowed one earned run with 17 strikeouts in 12 innings for two starts during the week that ended on Sunday.

Rowley, 28, has a 1.04 ERA for 26 innings in his last four starts. Rowley rarely breaks 90 mph with the fastball, but his pitches have lots of movement. He pitches with intelligence and a total lack of fear, befitting a West Point man.