The last in a series of weekly looks at the start of pitching in the Rangers minor-league system:

The turnaround for pitching in the Rangers’ organization started in July.

The Rangers began making deals in July that brought nine arms into the pipeline, mostly with lower-level clubs. A remarkable run of in-house improvement also started around July 1.

Consider the rotation of High A Down East and Low A Hickory:

Down East began July with a rotation ERA of 4.29. The number dropped to 3.69 over the final two-plus months of the regular season.

Hickory showed an even greater improvement. Its rotation went from a 4.48 ERA in the first three months of the season to 3.17 for the final two-plus months.

A pair of 20-year-olds excelled in the final stretch.

Strike-throwing right-hander Tyler Phillips, likely organizational pitcher of the year, went 8-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his final 10 starts, which included one appearance with Down East. Phillips allowed eight walks in 57 innings in the starts.

Right-hander A.J. Alexy began to show why the Rangers wanted him included in last year’s trade that sent right-hander Yu Darvish to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Alexy brought his delivery under control and was 4-1 with a 2.32 ERA. Alexy had 64 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings in that span.

Right-handed relievers Joe Barlow and Demarcus Evans and finished strongly with Hickory. Barlow had a 0.67 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings. Evans had a 0.66 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings.

The prime goal of a minor league season is to have players performing better at the end than the beginning. The Rangers achieved that with the pitching staffs at Down East and Hickory.

The organizational leaders from the regular season that ended on Monday:

INNINGS - Right-hander Emerson Martinez led with 147 at Down East. That could ease the sting of going 5-11 for the second consecutive season.

ERA - With a minimum of 100 innings, Phillips leads at 2.64 for 133 innings at Hickory and Down East. That is a big improvement over 4.21 for 98 1/3 innings at Hickory and Short-season A Spokane last year.

Phillips told milb.com that Josiah Igono, currently the peak-performance director on the major league staff, helped him out of a mental funk last year.

“He told me, 'These young guys don't feel bad for you. They see it as an opportunity to move up and take your spot,’" Phillips told the website. “That lit a fire in me."

With a minimum of 50 innings, Down East right-handed reliever Jacob Lemoine wins at 2.40 for 56 1/3 innings. Triple-A Round Rock left-handed reliever Brandon Mann (2.41) and Spokane-Hickory right-hander Hans Crouse (2.47) were close. Crouse is among the club’s top pitching prospects.

WINS - Phillips was the only pitcher in the organization to reach double figures, with 12.

STRIKEOUTS PER NINE INNINGS - Evans, a fastball-curveball power pitcher, led all minor leaguers with at least 50 innings at 16.6. Evans also had a WHIP of 0.98. His performance in the Arizona Fall League will be of interest to the Rangers.