As we reach opening day for the Texas Rangers, we’ve also come to the end of the road for our Rangers Top 30 prospect countdown. Funny thing: At the end of this road, there really does appear to be a pot of gold. Perhaps the co-favorites for the AL Rookie of the Year. And a teenager who might be a top 10 prospect in all of baseball before he turns 20.
As we’ve mentioned, both the present and future are bright for the Rangers. The Rangers were Baseball America’s Organization of the Year in 2023, and not just because they won their first World Series.
They fully integrated Josh Jung into the everyday lineup, graduated Evan Carter from minor leaguer to full-on savior, drafted a seemingly major league-ready outfielder and used some capital from the minor league system to land key pitchers at the trade deadline. They enter 2024 as BA’s No. 3 ranked system in terms of talent.
It’s been fun counting down from No. 30. But here’s the medal stand of Rangers prospects:
No. 3 SS Sebastian Walcott
Age: 18
Height/weight: 6-4, 200
B-T: R-R
Who he is: Walcott, from the Bahamas, was the top signee in the Rangers’ 2023 international signing class. He was ranked No. 6 (Baseball America) and No. 8 (MLB Pipeline) in the class. He received a $3.2 million bonus. He enters the 2024 season ranked No. 54 among all prospects by Baseball America, No. 71 by MLB Pipeline.
Why he is here: As a 17-year-old in his first professional season, Walcott played at three levels, finishing the year at Class A Hickory, where he was FIVE years younger than the weighted league average. It was the first time in a decade, the Rangers have had a player 17 or younger at a full season affiliate. He spent most of his year in the Arizona Complex League, where he slashed .273/.325/.524/.849 with seven homers in 35 games.
The Rangers feel he has superstar potential. One example: His exit velocities often surpassed 110 mph, considered elite, despite having his early development somewhat hampered by COVID and limitations imposed in The Bahamas.
“He has a lightning-quick right-handed stroke with plenty of leverage,” MLB Pipeline, which ranks him third in the Rangers’ system said. “[He] could produce 30 or more homers per season when he adds some projectable strength and settles down his approach. He has the hand-eye coordination to make consistent contact but looks to pull and launch almost every pitch he sees.”
Other examples: Also, he possesses well-above average arm strength and is a quick sprinter, though he must improve his first step.
What’s his future: At 6-4, he’s already pretty tall for a shortstop and if he grows any more he could be too tall for the position. He played some third base during the spring. If he continues to grow and add muscle, it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets an outfield look.
For 2024, it will be important to cut down the strikeout rate a bit. He had a 29.7% strikeout rate across the three levels at which he appeared.
The Rangers feel he is mature beyond his age, but he still must learn to control his emotions a bit. According to Baseball America, he’d occasionally express frustration leading to throwing a helmet or a bat and being removed early from a couple of games. In other words, he’s still a teenager.
Where he will start 2024: The Rangers love challenging their best young prospects. He’ll bypass Class A Down East altogether and start at the more advanced level of Hickory.
No. 2 OF Evan Carter
Age: 21
Height/weight: 6-4, 190
B-T: L-R
Who he is: Carter was the Rangers’ second-round selection and the 50th overall player taken in the pandemic-shortened 2020 draft. He attended Elizabethton High School in Tennessee, the same school that produced Cowboys legend Jason Witten. Carter received a $1.25 million bonus to bypass a commitment to Duke. At the outset of spring training, he was ranked the No. 4 prospect in baseball by Baseball America and No. 5 by MLB Pipeline.
Why he is here: Well, he could be elsewhere. Like No. 1. In literally any other organization, he would be. It is hard to imagine how a 21-year-old, who earned the nickname of “Little Savior” and produced an OPS of 1.058 in the stretch drive and .917 in the postseason wouldn’t be No. 1. But … Wyatt Langford.
He’s got extreme plate discipline, is an elite baserunner and an above-average fielder. He’s perfectly capable of playing center field and will play it on days Leody Taveras sits out. H
Said MLB Pipeline of his approach: “Carter’s offensive game centers around his preternatural ability to recognize pitches and discern strikes, which has earned him the nickname ‘Full Count Carter’.”
According to MLB Pipeline, he chased at just a 16.1% rate over his three weeks during the regular season and a month of the postseason. It was better than top qualifier, Juan Soto (16.6%).
What’s his future: It’s still all in front of him. After 23 games over 24 days of service, he still qualifies as a rookie. And if he’s not the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year, he’s second behind his teammate Langford.
The lone weakness, if you can call it that for a short sample size in the majors, was a lack of production against left-handers. But he had only 20 at-bats including the regular and postseason. In the minors last year, he slashed 242/.349/.253/.602 against lefties last year. He found a way on base but did not slug at all. Carter was adamant in spring training that he would succeed against lefties and the Rangers are confident he will.
Where he will start 2024: In left field for the Rangers. Probably for the next decade. Or more.
No. 1 OF Wyatt Langford
Age: 22
Height/weight: 6-1, 225
B-T: R-R
Who he is: Langford was the Rangers’ first-round draft pick, fourth overall, out of the University of Florida in 2023. The Rangers got the fourth pick as a result of moving up three spots in the inaugural MLB Draft Lottery. Langford, who set a school record for slugging percentage (.746) with the Gators received an $8 million bonus from the Rangers, then promptly went off and tore up four different levels of the minor league system. He entered spring training ranked as the No. 5 prospect in baseball by Baseball America and No. 6 by MLB Pipeline.
Why he is here: Have you been paying attention? After getting drafted, Langford slashed .360/.480/.677/1.158 in 200 professional plate appearances across four levels of the organization. Then he obliterated spring training pitching to affirm his spot on the opening day roster. According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, the only position players with less professional experience than him to be on opening day roster are Pete Incaviglia (1986) and John Olerud (1990). Neither had a single professional at-bat when they made their opening day debuts.
Of his tools, MLB Pipeline said: “A complete package at the plate, Langford stands out most with his plus-plus power to all fields, which he generates with an easy right-handed stroke that lets him launch balls in the air. By letting his massive strength, electric bat speed and natural loft work for him without swinging for the fences, he makes consistent loud contact and projects as a .280 hitter with 35 or more homers per season.”
Baseball America was no less glowing: “[He] has a simple, powerful swing that keeps the barrel in the zone long enough to hit for a high average and with enough strength and loft to eventually achieve double-plus power. Langford also makes stellar swing decisions. He doesn’t chase often, and he rarely misses pitches in the zone. He should be an offensive force in Texas in short order.
In other words: He has the ability to be a generational type of talent.
What’s his future: The expectations at this point are unfair. You don’t expect players to be generational talents. Those are the outliers. But in a very short stretch, Langford has done nothing less than raise comparisons to players like Buster Posey and Mike Trout. Langford and Evan Carter enter the season as perhaps the co-favorites for AL Rookie of the Year.
If Langford has an area on which he needs to improve, it’s fielding, but that may be relative. He is the least reliable of their five outfielders, but the Rangers’ starting trio of Evan Carter, Leody Taveras and Adolis García might be the best in the league. And backup Travis Jankowski is an elite fourth outfielder. It’s likely that Langford may end up getting the bulk of his at-bats this year as a DH, though the Rangers will find him playing time in the field as well.
Where he will start 2024: As the Rangers’ DH and part-time outfielder. The question around him is when he will end up in the No. 3 spot in the batting order behind Corey Seager. It may not be a terribly long wait.
The Dallas Morning News’ Top 30 Rangers prospects
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