SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Sometimes, the seemingly illogical makes all the sense in the world.

It just takes awhile to get there.

Start here: The Rangers are trying to build a strong starting pitching foundation, because any attempt at rebuilding will fail without one. Their first steps: Having their most prized young pitchers not pitch. In fact, they are doing just about everything except pitching. The Rangers call it their "de-load" program. It is about acclimation, education and, they hope, injury prevention.

At high noon on a random Wednesday in August, with the temperature at 105, the garage doors to the Rangers' spacious and well air-conditioned weight room slowly rise as "Zombie" by the Cranberries blares over the sound system. Among a group of about 15 relievers are five pitchers -- including first-, second- and fourth-round picks Cole Winn, Owen White and Forney's Mason Englert -- who will join them for agility, flexibility and weightlifting workouts.

They will then sit in on a "game review" of the previous night's Arizona Rookie League game, which, on this day is kind of led by 12th-round pick Destin Dotson, another member of the de-load delegation. The pitchers and coaches offer constructive criticism and feedback on the previous day's performance in a group setting. All those in attendance are encouraged to speak up.

They will stretch and then play catch. And before the night's giant dust storm (which allows us to work the meteorological term haboob into this story) descends on Surprise to cancel the Rookie League game, they will essentially be done.

They will not pitch off a mound until Aug. 22. They will not pitch in a game until the Fall Instructional League in mid-September.

Consider it their orientation.

1 / 4Texas Rangers' pitcher Owen White works on his mechanics at Rangers' training facility Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. The players are learning from a program that is designed to hopefully prevent injury, part designed to allow for more learning of "feel" for the game.(Darryl Webb/Special Contributor)(Darryl Webb / Special Contributor) 2 / 4Texas Rangers' pitcher Owen White works on his delivery while doing a little long toss with teammate Cole Winn at Rangers' training facility Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. The players are learning from a program that is designed to hopefully prevent injury, part designed to allow for more learning of "feel" for the game.(Darryl Webb/Special Contributor)(Darryl Webb / Special Contributor) 3 / 4Texas Rangers' pitcher Owen White does a little long toss with teammate Cole Winn at Rangers' training facility Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. The players are learning from a program that is designed to hopefully prevent injury, part designed to allow for more learning of "feel" for the game.(Darryl Webb/Special Contributor)(Darryl Webb / Special Contributor) 4 / 4Texas Rangers' pitcher Cole Winn works on his delivery while doing a little long toss with teammate Owen White at Rangers' training facility Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. The players are learning from a program that is designed to hopefully prevent injury, part designed to allow for more learning of "feel" for the game.(Darryl Webb/Special Contributor)(Darryl Webb / Special Contributor)

"The idea behind the program is basic: How do we best introduce these players to our organization and prepare them for pro ball?" general manager Jon Daniels said. "In an office environment, you'd handle a new employee straight out of school differently than you would a veteran executive hired from another company. Similar concept here -- these are high school pitchers who we don't want to take anything for granted with.

"Let's give them a more comprehensive orientation, make sure they're as prepared as possible for what's to come, on- and off-field," Daniels added. "There's already an on-boarding process for new players, with our minicamp program. This is just more detailed for a specific group of players."

Recuperation time

Mason Englert needed a rest.

He pitched Forney to the Class 5A state championship game this spring. Before that, he pitched some during the fall. And the summer before, he did the usual showcase tour as a rising high school senior. When he added it all up, he was over 110 innings of actual game work.

"My arm felt a little tired between 70 and 90 innings, but it felt great the last start," Englert said. "But it felt like it was time for a little break. It's best that we get our bodies recovered from a long season. Getting my body better and rested and just getting used to the pro lifestyle is important."

What the Rangers talked about through the scouting process was exactly what he'd had in mind. It began with a little recuperation time for his arm this summer.

But the program goes much deeper than that. The Rangers laid out a plan for each pitcher that carries through the end of the 2019 instructional league program. It would give them two weeks of full rest while getting used to professional baseball, then a slower buildup to pitching in the instructional league and finally a 2019 season of about 100 innings, including extended spring training work and instructional league.

The first phase, which lasted two weeks, was an introduction to the club's shoulder maintenance program and classroom work. More often than not, these were group discussions on subjects such as body language, how to properly chart pitches, game situations and being a good teammate. It concluded with a three-day "field trip" to observe Double-A Frisco. The second phase, which began in late July, has them working toward getting on a mound on Aug. 22 and being ready to pitch about seven innings in Instructional League.

The plan was comprehensive. So comprehensive, in fact, that it felt a little like a, um, college class. And that might have been a little bit of a shock to the draftees. After all, pitchers pitch. The Rangers were proposing they not do any of that for two months. It was important to get buy-in, even if it took some convincing.

"I was extremely shocked," said White, a second-round choice from China Grove, N.C., with a laugh "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I have to wait how long?' When they talked about classrooms, it was like, honestly, that's why we didn't go to college. But we have to look at it the right way. We're learning more stuff than we ever have. We're actually learning about the game. We got here off of our talent. We know we've got to get physically prepared, and we're doing that in the weight room. But we have to get mentally prepared, and the classrooms are doing that."

Along the way, the high school picks have seen others from their graduating class get their first game action. First-rounder Winn and Englert both know Grayson Rodriguez of Nacogdoches, who went to Baltimore with the 11th pick. He's already thrown 13 innings for the Orioles' rookie level Gulf Coast League affiliate. Winn also knows Matt Liberatore, who went one pick after him to Tampa Bay at No. 16. He's thrown 18 innings.

In all, 16 high school pitchers from the first four rounds signed. All but six of them have pitched this year; three of them are in the Rangers organization.

Winn, who moved from Colorado to Orange County, Calif., before his senior season, wanted to keep pitching initially. The Rangers stood firm.

"I felt the best I've ever felt coming off my season; it was hard to just shut down," Winn said. "Overall, I understood why. But it was hard, at first, to talk so much about pitching and not even throw a baseball. We are getting a foundation, though, and that's been really important."

Englert jumped in: "A feel. We're getting a feel for the game."

Building blocks

The Rangers have a problem.

They have not developed and held on to enough pitching to continue to make contention viable. They haven't developed their own 200-inning pitcher since Derek Holland reached that mark five years ago. And there is nobody on the horizon. The success of the current rebuilding program will hinge on their ability to build out a pitching staff.

That begins with the base. And according to Paul Kruger, the team's assistant director of player development, research indicates that the window from ages 18 to 22 is critical to the development of an adult body. So, the Rangers put that first.

"The whole idea is, what can we do to get the most out of these young pitchers?" Kruger said. "The time frame is huge to the development of their body. So, do we take a step back and work on that first, or are the innings more important? Let's get their bodies and minds right on a daily basis so that when they are ready to pitch, they've got building blocks. We wanted something that could be used to build a better routine from Day One."

The underlying message: A better body is a stronger body and, perhaps, a stronger body won't break down as quickly or as severely.

Then again, the Rangers tried a more rudimentary form of this program two years ago -- one with less

-- and two of the pitchers who went through it are now recovering from Tommy John surgery. Cole Ragans, the first-round pick in 2016, underwent surgery in March; second-rounder Alex Speas had it in June.

In the wake of Speas' injury, the Rangers revisited the de-load program.

1 / 5Texas Rangers' pitcher Cole Ragans works his legs at the Rangers' training facility Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. Ragans one of the top 2 picks in the 2016 draft is recovering from Tommy John surgery.(Darryl Webb/Special Contributor)(Darryl Webb / Special Contributor) 2 / 5Texas Rangers' pitcher Mason Englert does squats at the Rangers' training facility Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. Englert and other pitchers are learning from a program that is designed to hopefully prevent injury.(Darryl Webb/Special Contributor)(Darryl Webb / Special Contributor) 3 / 5Texas Rangers' pitcher Mason Englert (front) squats with the help of teammate Destin Dotson (rear) at the Rangers' training facility Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. Englert and Dotson and other pitchers are learning from a program that is designed to hopefully prevent injury.(Darryl Webb/Special Contributor)(Darryl Webb / Special Contributor) 4 / 5Texas Rangers' pitcher Alex Speas stretches at the Rangers' training facility Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. Speas one of the top 2 picks in the 2016 draft is recovering from Tommy John surgery.(Darryl Webb/Special Contributor)(Darryl Webb / Special Contributor) 5 / 5Texas Rangers' pitcher Destin Dotson works out at the Rangers' training facility Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018 in Surprise, Arizona. Dotson and other pitchers are learning from a program that is designed to hopefully prevent injury.(Darryl Webb/Special Contributor)(Darryl Webb / Special Contributor)

"There wasn't a reason not to put the comprehensive program in place," Daniels said. "Unfortunately, we don't know the exact cause of the injuries -- or most arm injuries. So, we're going to continue to do what we believe to be in the players' long-term best interests."

Neither pitcher blames the program as a root cause for his injury. In fact, both highly endorse the expansion of it while rehabbing in Arizona.

"I think the de-load program is great, to be honest," Ragans said. "I came out to camp at 186 pounds, and when I left I was at like 205. I put on the weight. I got way stronger. My arm got stronger. By instructs [instructional league], I was throwing 95-96 [mph]. I could tell that everything we went through really helped our bodies. We weren't just thrown out there. We were dying to compete initially, but when we got out there, it was clear why we went through it."

Aug. 22 is coming soon enough for the pitchers in this year's

program. For now, they will continue to stretch and lift and learn.

And do everything but pitch.

When you think about it, it makes all the sense in the world.

Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant