SURPRISE, Ariz. -- On the back fields of the Rangers' spring facility, there exists a pitcher named Martin Perez. He is 18, from Venezuela and left-handed. He is reputed to be extremely talented.

"I saw him pitch the other day," Minor League pitching instructor Mark Connor said. "He has three above-average Major League pitches. But he's inconsistent. After I watched him pitch, I said to him, 'First inning, World Series, second inning, Little League.' He said, 'I know.' But he has a chance to be special."

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All over the complex there are young pitchers with electric arms who have a chance to be special, from Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz, who are getting extended looks in Major League camp, to kids like Perez, who have pitched no more than a half-season in the United States.

Those who proclaim themselves experts in such matters say the Rangers have the best young Minor League pitching in the game. Most of them, though, still are two to three years away from pitching in the big leagues.

The real question is if the Rangers pitching in 2009 will be better than it was last season, when their staff had the highest ERA in the Major Leagues.

"It has to be better," Opening Day pitcher Kevin Millwood said.

That the Rangers won 79 games in 2008 was a testament to the best offense in the game, and it also leaves the thought of what will happen if Texas can get better pitching in 2009.

"We're going to be better," club president Nolan Ryan said. "We're going to throw more strikes and walk less people. I truly believe that. We're not going to rush as many kids to the big leagues as we did last year. I think our pitchers are starting to take a lot of pride, the same as offensive players. They are determined to step up.

"I wouldn't want to put expectations out there on where I'd like to see us finish. That's not fair. But I anticipate improvement."

Mainly, the Rangers anticipate health. The Rangers have to be better this season if they don't come close to putting 14 pitchers on the disabled list, as they did in 2008.

Ryan, a Hall of Fame pitcher with 324 career wins and 5,714 strikeouts, watched the struggles in his first season as president, and he laid down a mandate that conditioning would be a top priority for all Rangers pitchers from the big leagues down to their Dominican Academy.

"I think there's definitely been more of an emphasis on it," Millwood said. "It makes people think about the conditioning more than in the past. Instead of just getting your work in, you work hard at it and get it done."

The Rangers had two big setbacks in January, when both starter Eric Hurley and reliever Joaquin Benoit had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. Both could have been key members of the staff, instead they are lost for the season.

The Rangers also have had a few minor things crop up in Spring Training. Tommy Hunter has been down for a couple of weeks with a strained groin muscle, and Dustin Nippert's shot at winning a spot in the bullpen has been set back by a strained back muscle. Eddie Guardado has had some normal shoulder stiffness, and C.J. Wilson and Luis Mendoza each had to work through a blister problem.

Overall, however, Ryan said the best thing about camp has been the health of the pitching staff, especially the starting rotation of Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Scott Feldman, Matt Harrison and Brandon McCarthy, plus Kris Benson and Jason Jennings.

"We haven't had anybody go down with arm problems," Ryan said. "Guys are throwing more pitches and getting more innings in. The thing I'm happiest with is nobody has tried to get away from our program. They have been good about it."

Texas pitchers also need a new attitude. With what they've gone through over the past year and the past decade, it's not hard for a defeatist attitude to creep in. New pitching coach Mike Maddux has tried hard to change that.

"It's more of getting back to fundamental basics," McCarthy said. "First-pitch fastballs down in the zone and first-pitch strikes, and take it from there. Mike has also talked a lot about mound presence.

"Basically you own the mound, you own the field [and] you're in charge. Don't let the opponent see weakness. Feel you're in control. That was a benchmark for Nolan and part of his legacy. That's something they want in us."

The Rangers need more innings from a starting rotation that threw the fewest in the American League last year. They need to throw fewer pitches. They threw 154 pitches per game last year, the highest in the AL.

They need Millwood and Padilla to be the leaders of the staff and pitch at least 200 innings each.

"That's the way it should be," Millwood said. "If we do our job, it takes a lot of pressure off the other guys and it will create a competition of everybody trying to keep up, instead of pressing trying to pick up the slack."

The bullpen still is a concern. The Rangers are happy with Frank Francisco as the closer even though he's filled that role for only five weeks at the end of last season. They are comfortable with Wilson and Guardado as left-handed setup relievers, but the Rangers understand they have yet to find a reliable right-handed setup reliever to replace Benoit.

They still feel the bullpen will be fine, or at least not as overworked as it was last year, if the rotation can average six to seven innings per game. Rangers starters averaged 5.37 innings per start in 2008, the lowest in the league.

"It all comes down to starting pitching," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "If our starting pitchers can keep us in ballgames and give us a chance to win, then we're going to be fine. Our offense is going to be there, and I think our defense will be better. We just need to pitch. That's no different than any other year."

The Rangers expect the results to be far different than what they were last year. Much is riding on it.