Friday, July 04

ARLINGTON -- The list of teenagers to play in the modern era of the Texas League isn’t very long. The list of teenagers to succeed in the Texas League is even shorter. It includes names like Elvis Andrus, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Mike Trout. 

Rangers top prospect Sebastian Walcott is among them.

Walcott -- ranked No. 4 in MLB Pipeline’s recently updated Top 100 overall prospects -- has been one of the most electric teenagers in Texas League history during his age-19 season. On Monday, he was selected to participate in the 2025 All-Star Futures Game, which will be held on July 12 at Truist Park in Atlanta.

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This is the second year in a row Walcott will participate in the Futures Game. 

“He just continues to grow and get better,” general manager Ross Fenstermaker said. “It's hard to believe, at times, that he's only 19 years old, with what he's doing in the Texas League and the company that he's keeping right now. It’s pretty impressive.” 

Walcott entered July with a slash line of .247/.349/.395, with a .744 OPS, eight home runs, 16 doubles, 33 RBIs, 41 walks, and 18 stolen bases in 71 games for Frisco this season, his second at the Double-A level after late-season promotion in 2024. 

The infielder, who is the youngest everyday player in the Texas League, entered Tuesday among league leaders in doubles (tied for fourth with 16), extra-base hits (tied for sixth with 24), total bases (eighth with 107), and stolen bases (eighth).

Walcott was the crown jewel of the Rangers’ 2023 international signing class, when he collected a $3.2 million bonus -- sixth overall in the class -- coming out of the Bahamas. Even with high expectations, it has been a steady rise for him ever since.

Though Walcott struggled early in 2024, he finished the year with a .265/.344/.452 slash line between High-A Hickory (116 games) and Frisco (five games). He earned South Atlantic League All-Star honors, leading the circuit in triples (nine), extra-base hits (50) and total bases (192) as its youngest regular at age 18, earning himself the September promotion to Frisco. 

Walcott often has pointed to a mental switch last year in Hickory that led to his successful season. Whatever he’s doing is working, as he has caught the attention of those outside the organization and exceeded the expectations of those within it. He has the potential to be the top prospect in baseball sooner rather than later. 

“His defense continues to improve,” Fenstermaker said. “His swing decisions continue to improve. His own control continues to improve. He’s put himself in a great spot. We could see him in the very near future -- both on a national stage at the Futures Game or, potentially, at some point here in Arlington in the near future. He's got a lot of work ahead of him, and we're really, really pleased with what he's done.”

“That’s how young guys learn. You watch the veteran players -- especially those who are stars -- and you model those behaviors. That's why it's important to have really good veteran players with the right behaviors. 

“It's so important for those guys to learn what success looks like, and not just between the lines, but the way you carry yourself on a daily basis, and how you work and how you interact with your teammates, and so many important aspects that younger guys learn from. Those are the behaviors that they're going to model one day. Having Jacob around was critically important to a lot of our younger players.” -- President of baseball operations Chris Young on Jacob deGrom’s impact in the Rangers’ clubhouse

Manager Bruce Bochy briefly returned to his National League roots on Monday night, when the Rangers played their fourth straight extra-innings game. Bochy emptied his bench, leading to him having to use starting pitcher Jack Leiter as a pinch-hitter in the 11th inning. 

“I looked down there, and he just looked the most hitterish,” Bochy joked on Tuesday about how he made his decision. “I said, ‘He's a good athlete, and of all the pitchers, he's probably the guy least likely to get hurt.’ I hope it's all right today. I heard he took 100 swings in the cage.” 

Bochy said he asked Leiter if he or fellow rookie Kumar Rocker was a better hitter. Leiter immediately said it was himself, though afterward he told the media he didn’t even know if that was true. Leiter struck out on three pitches, going down swinging after two called strikes.

“I felt pretty confident in my ability to put the bat on the ball, but obviously, it didn't happen,” Leiter said.

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