Texas Rangers Top 40 Prospects

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fourth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb.

A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A much deeper overview can be found here.

All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every team’s list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here.

Rangers Top Prospects
Rk Name Age Highest Level Position ETA FV
1 Wyatt Langford 22.7 MLB LF 2024 65
2 Evan Carter 21.9 MLB LF 2024 55
3 Sebastian Walcott 18.3 A+ 3B 2027 50
4 Alejandro Rosario 22.5 A+ SP 2026 50
5 Justin Foscue 25.4 MLB 2B 2024 45
6 Winston Santos 22.2 AA SP 2025 45
7 Cameron Cauley 21.4 A+ SS 2026 45
8 Emiliano Teodo 23.4 AA SIRP 2025 45
9 Kumar Rocker 24.6 A+ SIRP 2024 40+
10 Jack Leiter 24.2 MLB SIRP 2024 40+
11 Yeremi Cabrera 19.0 R CF 2029 40+
12 Aidan Curry 22.0 A+ SP 2026 40+
13 Kohl Drake 24.0 AA SP 2025 40+
14 Izack Tiger 23.4 A SIRP 2027 40+
15 Marc Church 23.3 AAA SIRP 2025 40+
16 Paulino Santana 17.7 R RF 2030 40
17 Owen White 24.9 MLB SP 2024 40
18 Mitch Bratt 21.0 A+ SP 2026 40
19 Joseph Montalvo 22.2 A+ SP 2026 40
20 Caden Scarborough 19.3 R SP 2028 40
21 Cody Freeman 23.5 AA 3B 2025 40
22 Jacob Latz 28.3 MLB SIRP 2024 40
23 Cole Winn 24.6 MLB SIRP 2024 40
24 Carson Coleman 26.3 AA SIRP 2025 40
25 Brock Porter 21.1 A+ SP 2027 40
26 Gleider Figuereo 20.0 A+ 3B 2027 40
27 Skylar Hales 22.7 AA SIRP 2026 40
28 Dane Acker 25.3 AA MIRP 2025 40
29 Braylin Morel 18.5 R RF 2029 35+
30 Ryan Lobus 23.8 A+ MIRP 2026 35+
31 Daniel Robert 29.9 MLB SIRP 2024 35+
32 Davis Wendzel 27.1 MLB 3B 2024 35+
33 Liam Hicks 25.1 AA C 2025 35+
34 Abimelec Ortiz 22.4 AA 1B 2027 35+
35 Tyler Owens 23.5 AA SIRP 2025 35+
36 Robby Ahlstrom 25.1 AA SIRP 2025 35+
37 Reid Birlingmair 27.7 AAA SIRP 2025 35+
38 Adrian Rodriguez 23.2 A+ SIRP 2026 35+
39 Victor Simeon 23.6 A SIRP 2027 35+
40 Ismael Agreda 20.8 R SIRP 2028 35+
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65 FV Prospects

Drafted: 1st Round, 2023 from Florida (TEX)
Age 22.7 Height 6′ 1″ Weight 225 Bat / Thr R / R FV 65
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
40/55 70/70 35/70 70/70 30/30 45

Langford graduated as the no. 2 prospect in baseball. Despite his slow-ish start to the regular season, I wasn’t inclined to move him down, or to move Paul Skenes or James Wood (who have the same FV grade as Langford) ahead of him. This guy’s ability to clean out velocity around his hands is on a different level than all but a few big league hitters, and the fact that he was in the big leagues after playing a little over a month of minor league games is incredible. I’m not especially worried that his rookie season, which was interrupted by a May IL stint for hamstring tightness, has been middling so far. Here is his report from the offseason: Langford slugged an incredible .719 as a sophomore at Florida, a remarkable feat considering he barely played the season before. Then he slashed .373/.498/.784 as a junior and solidified himself as a top-three talent in a loaded draft. After he signed, Langford lit pro ball on fire for the better part of two months, slashing a combined .360/.480/.677 as he climbed all the way to Triple-A. During that 200 PA span, Langford’s underlying TrackMan data was so good that you could use it to spearhead an argument that he should be first on the overall prospect list, with plus measurable power and plate discipline, as well as an 81% contact rate. If you buy that Langford is actually that good, then he’s perhaps the most complete hitter in the minors.

It’s rare for hitters to hit the ball both as often as Langford has and as hard as he does, even among big leaguers. Buff and twitchy, the short-levered Langford’s arms are nearly as thick as they are long; Mike Trout is a fair body comp. His compact swing allows it to enter the hitting zone very quickly, enabling him to stay short to the ball and crush letter-high pitches, which is how he does most of his extra-base damage. Langford is apt to swing inside pitches on the outer third of the plate, perhaps because his levers are so short and he can’t reach out there, and also because he’s a bit of a bucket strider whose style of swinging is pretty common around baseball (Davis Schneider and a bunch of other Blue Jays swing like this, Henry Davis too). Langford’s lower half is quite flexible and strong, and so are his hands. He has titanic power and is much better than a lot of the other top prospects at turning on velocity.

Langford is also incredibly fast for a player his size, and some of his home-to-first times are a 70 on the scouting scale. Even though he has the speed for center and has played there a little bit, his feel for the position (and for playing outfield defense in general) is very poor. He’s simply not comfortable out there, but his pure speed gives him a shot to be an impact defender if he can find his footing over time. Langford is a much more dangerous hitter than Jackson Holliday is right now. His power is fully actualized and he’s much more likely to play an impact big league role from the jump than Holliday is, especially if the Rangers just DH Langford. Risk that this might happen anyway, especially with Leody Taveras and Evan Carter both around, is why Langford slots in as prospect no. 2 overall.

55 FV Prospects

Drafted: 2nd Round, 2020 from Elizabethton HS (TN) (TEX)
Age 21.9 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 190 Bat / Thr L / R FV 55
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
55/60 40/45 40/45 70/70 60/60 45

Carter got off to a slow start in 2024 and then was shut down in May with a stress reaction in his back from which he has yet to return. As of this update, he has been in Arizona swinging a bat for about a week. Carter missed most of the 2021 campaign with the same injury. I have tended to be lower on Carter than the consensus because I don’t think he has huge physical tools and I feel more comfortable with him playing defense in left field than center, but he has elite secondary skills that buoy his performance. He graduates forecast as an above-average everyday left fielder. Here is his report from the offseason Top 100: In the Randy Arozarena vein, you just don’t want to overthink this one now that Carter has shown what he’s capable of in the game’s most intense moments. We stayed relatively low on Carter (he was one of the top 50-FV players at the end of last year) for a while, considering him more of a soft skills left fielder than a likely star, noting Brandon Nimmo as a potential comp who became exceptional. It looks like Carter is, too. We don’t expect he’ll perform to the level he did during his god-like call-up — .306/.413/.645 in September, .300/.417/.500 in the playoffs — but he’ll produce enough to be a very good left fielder in the event Leody Taveras hangs around to play center for the foreseeable future.

Carter’s plate discipline is incredible, and his nerves of steel were on display during the 2023 postseason, when he was very difficult for some of the best arms in baseball to make chase. He also has fantastic plate coverage and better ball-striking power on his more conservative swings than you’d expect from such a gangly and thin athlete. We don’t think the league has taken complete advantage of Carter’s issues against breaking stuff yet, especially back foot breakers, against which he was vulnerable in the minors. Carter struggles to contact these pitches when they’re well-executed (he actually had many more swings-and-misses than balls in play versus breakers in 2023), but he can punish the ones that don’t quite finish.

Defensively, Carter does some things very well in center field and other things not so well. He’s great at running down balls in the gaps, and at finding the wall and then the baseball again as he approaches the warning track. His reads on balls hit in front of him aren’t as crisp (he’ll make some diving plays in front of him that other center fielders make standing up), and his hands and ball skills are below-average. His arm plays above its raw grade because Carter’s exchange is so quick — he knows his best chance to hose someone is to get rid of the ball quickly and accurately, so he does. He’s definitely a fit in center field, but he isn’t a Gold Glover or anything like that, and not as good as Taveras, which probably means Carter will be one hell of a left field defender for the next little while. Carter lacks the prototypical power of a starting left fielder, but his plate skills and speed are going to elevate his OBP enough to make him a very valuable player.

50 FV Prospects

Signed: International Signing Period, 2023 from Bahamas (TEX)
Age 18.3 Height 6′ 4″ Weight 190 Bat / Thr R / R FV 50
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
20/30 55/80 25/70 60/50 30/50 60

Walcott was seen some in the U.S. during the fall of 2021 and leapt off the field because of his physicality and power. The Rangers international scouting group was originally connected to a player named Camilo Diaz for a rumored bonus of $3 million but seemingly diverted to Walcott around this time (Diaz signed with Houston). Walcott signed in January of 2023 and spent a big chunk of spring training in Arizona, where he stood apart from his peers on the backfields because of his bat speed. He went to the D.R. for the start of the DSL season, but was quickly promoted to the Arizona Complex League and lit things up for a month before opponents realized he couldn’t recognize a breaking ball. He ended up having a .273/.325/.524 line in Arizona with a terrifying 6.4% walk rate and 32.5% strikeout rate. The Rangers sent Walcott, who turned 18 during spring training, straight to High-A at the start of 2024. As of this update, he is somehow sporting an above-average Sally League wRC+ even though he remains sushi raw in most facets of the game.

Walcott has immense physical ability and long-term projection. He looks like a future NFL wide receiver in his uniform and has the kind of pull power you’d expect from a prospect built like that. This is a 6-foot-4 teenager with elite hand speed and power projection who is sufficiently athletic that he might develop into a viable shortstop defender. He has one of the biggest ceilings in all of minor league baseball, but he’ll have to traverse a great developmental distance to max out. Walcott’s swing and feel to hit need a ton of polish. The timing of his footwork in the box isn’t great and he ends up lunging at breakers, plus Walcott’s swing is driven by his bottom hand in a path that slopes down unless he’s making contact way out in front of the plate, and he often has no chance of hitting pitches on the outer edge. It’s a long swing that so far has been enabled by elite bat speed (Walcott is generating plus big league peak exit velos as a freaking 18-year-old) and it might require eventual adjustment, but rather than intervene right now, I think it’s fine to see if Walcott’s timing and feel to hit come naturally over time.

Walcott has a fuzzy defensive projection because of his size and error-prone early career look at short. He just isn’t very good at fielding the baseball yet. Everything happens a beat too slow for him on defense, from his first step to his exchange, but again we’re talking about an 18-year-old who is only halfway through his second pro season. Independent of his hands and internal clock improving, Walcott might eventually move from shortstop to third base just because of his size at maturity. If that’s the case, it’s more important for his hit tool to become meaningfully better. Walcott’s offensive ceiling looks like Javier Báez‘s peak. I know the Rangers have been aggressive with his promotion pace but this guy is not on the fast track. It’s probably going to take a while, but it’ll be fun to watch this play out.

Drafted: 5th Round, 2023 from Miami (TEX)
Age 22.5 Height 6′ 1″ Weight 182 Bat / Thr R / R FV 50
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Splitter Command Sits/Tops
55/60 55/60 60/60 40/45 93-96 / 99

A very famous prospect since his high school underclass days, Rosario’s mid-to-upper-90s fastball has always missed frustratingly few bats because of its shape. He ran an ERA over 7.00 during both his sophomore and junior years while sitting 95-96 and flashing a plus slider and splitter. The Rangers quickly overhauled Rosario’s delivery, most notably his arm slot, which is now much more vertical. It’s totally changed the way Rosario’s fastball plays without sacrificing his arm strength or the quality of either secondary pitch. There are many people in baseball who are jealous of the Rangers for this one, and others who think Rosario should be furious with the staff at Miami for failing to help him improve in college, as it probably cost him a lot of money. The changes have also improved Rosario’s command. His line to the plate is much more direct and comfortable looking. In less than a year, Rosario has gone from a frustrating Day Two prospect to a potential mid-rotation starter with three plus pitches.

45 FV Prospects

Drafted: 1st Round, 2020 from Mississippi State (TEX)
Age 25.4 Height 5′ 11″ Weight 225 Bat / Thr R / R FV 45
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
55/60 45/45 30/35 30/30 30/30 30

Foscue is a prospect of extremes, some good and some bad, and his data profile is profoundly weird. As he’s bulked up and gotten stronger since college, he’s lost a fair bit of his mobility and athleticism and has slid down the defensive spectrum to play first base in addition to his usual second and third, where he has not been good. By far Foscue’s most exceptional skill is his bat-to-ball ability. He had a 91% in-zone contact rate in 2023, which would have ranked just behind Jake Cronenworth among big league first basemen and would have been in the top 15 of qualified hitters regardless of position. He crowds the plate and works the middle of the field and his pull side, and that’s it. His short levers help him stay on time and connect with just about everything in the strike zone, and after he went through a phase of passivity at the plate, Foscue has dialed in a very measured approach that had him walking more than he struck out at Triple-A last year. His paltry 3% barrel rate would easily be last among big league first baseman, however. Even though Foscue has gotten beefier, his power output is still south of the big league average, let alone what is typical at a corner infield position. He’s flawed and needs a lefty-hitting, good-gloved complement to help hide his issues, but Foscue should still be a pretty solid part-time player. Just days after making his big league debut in April, Foscue strained his oblique and spent most of the first half on the 60-day IL. He returned in late June and looks healthy at Triple-A.

Signed: July 2nd Period, 2019 from Dominican Republic (TEX)
Age 22.2 Height 6′ 0″ Weight 180 Bat / Thr R / R FV 45
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Changeup Command Sits/Tops
55/55 50/50 50/55 45/60 93-97 / 98

Santos has enjoyed a bat-missing boost across his entire repertoire, which was more average across the board last year and has played above this season. He was running a 2.80 ERA at High-A Hickory during the first half of 2024 and was promoted to Frisco not long before this system update.

Santos’ stuff isn’t meaningfully different than last year. His fastball is still his best pitch, topping out at 98 with plus riding life. His secondary pitches are more frequently average than plus in terms of their pure nastiness, but Santos’ command has begun to emerge as a potentially special aspect of his game and is elevating how they play. He’s always thrown plenty of strikes (this is a very athletic 6-foot tall righty with a simple operation), but his release has grown more and more consistent, and Santos’ stuff is more often in an enticing but unhittable location. His delivery is so effortless and easy that Santos looks like he’ll sustain his velo across a starter’s load of innings. He’s already done so under a 100-inning load and is on pace for a little more than that this season. Santos looks more likely to be parked at the back of a good rotation now and he’s a virtual lock to be added to the Rangers’ 40-man roster after the season, making it likely that he plays a spot starter role next year. His long-term forecast is as a no. 4/5 starter right on the fringe of making a contender’s playoff rotation.

Drafted: 3rd Round, 2021 from Barbers Hill HS (TX) (TEX)
Age 21.4 Height 5′ 10″ Weight 170 Bat / Thr R / R FV 45
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
20/30 50/55 35/50 70/70 45/70 50

Little Cam Cauley is going to strike out a lot, but he’s a top-of-the-scale athlete with playable power, nearly elite speed, and what will likely be rare defensive versatility. He runs 4.10 from home to first and has incredible range on defense. He can make acrobatic throws (the jump throw is a favorite of Cauley’s) and often has to because he doesn’t have the plant-and-throw hose of a typical shortstop (he’s also had some throwing accuracy issues in the past, which now seem remedied). Cauley is an athletic fit at every position, but he’s only played the infield so far in pro ball. His little frame skips across the dirt like a stone on a lake and he gets to grounders you assume are hits as they leave the bat. He has a chance to be a Gold Glove defender at shortstop and has the speed to play center field if the Rangers are inclined to try him out there.

Because Cauley has consistently struck out at about a 30% clip since signing, he is probably not going to be an everyday player, or at the very least will be a flawed one if he is. Still, his control of the strike zone (chase rates historically in the mid-20s) and playable power (short to the ball, strong top hand through contact, hard-hit rates north of 40% throughout his early 20s, 113 mph max exit this year) are going to allow him to do some stuff on offense amid all the Ks, and that might be enough for Cauley to play short everyday. Defensive versatility will help maximize his impact, especially with the presence of other shortstops in this org. The high-end outcome for Cauley would look like what Chris Taylor’s role and output was like during his peak. The disappointing outcome would be akin to what happened with Scott Kingery, though Cauley is a better athlete whose defense creates a higher floor than that.

8. Emiliano Teodo, SIRP

Signed: July 2nd Period, 2019 from Dominican Republic (TEX)
Age 23.4 Height 6′ 1″ Weight 165 Bat / Thr R / R FV 45
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Changeup Command Sits/Tops
65/65 60/70 50/null 30/40 97-99 / 102

Teodo signed just before the 2020 season that never happened and only popped onto the radar in 2021 when we had consistent minor league activity on the backfields again. He spent 2021 on the complex in Arizona, then toured several universities in Texas with the Rangers’ Instructional League squad that was facing college teams in fall scrimmages. Those scrimmages were mostly scouted by folks in amateur departments who were there to evaluate Baylor and Texas Tech more than they were Rangers prospects. Teodo came out sitting 98-101 mph, blowing the minds of scouts sifting through an ocean of college guys sitting 92.

Since then, Teodo has pitched admirably as a starter all the way to Double-A Frisco. He has consistently posted the same strikeout (31-33%) and walk rates (12%) at every level. Because of his size and below-average control, it’s very likely that Teodo will end up pitching in relief, but his stuff is so good that he might be a closer. He’s sitting 97-99 and has touched 102 as a starter while working as many as 84 innings in a single season, a mark he’s poised to blow through this year. If there’s a reason to be more optimistic about Teodo starting, it’s that his delivery doesn’t have the NC-17 violence that is typically required for someone his size to throw this hard. But what seals the relief projection for me here is Teodo’s fastball shape, which is more tail-oriented and is yielding contact rates that are much higher than is typical against a fastball this hard. I buy he’s a starter-quality athlete, but he’s still going to be a rather inefficient operator.

Teodo’s best sliders are better than his best fastballs. They average 88 mph and spin at roughly 2,800 rpm. His ability to land the pitch for a strike is superior to that of his fastball by a pretty wide margin, and Teodo might even take a slider-first approach if he’s put in the bullpen. I have Teodo throwing changeups 6% of the time as of list publication. It’s not a terrible offering because hitters are so geared up his fastball, and I’d like to see him use it more to really give it a shot at developing. It’d be nice to have even if he shifts to relief.

40+ FV Prospects

9. Kumar Rocker, SIRP

Drafted: 1st Round, 2022 from Vanderbilt (TEX)
Age 24.6 Height 6′ 5″ Weight 245 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Changeup Command Sits/Tops
55/55 70/70 40/45 30/40 95-97 / 99

Rocker looked like a first rounder for much of his high school career, but his stuff dipped as the 2018 draft approached while his asking price did not, so teams backed away and Rocker went to Vanderbilt. After some rocky starts early during his freshman year, something clicked for the right-hander and he was utterly dominant during the second half, culminating in a 19-strikeout no-hitter in a postseason game against Duke. That outing, and Vanderbilt’s run to a national title, made Rocker a household name even among casual baseball fans. He made just three starts (and had some command issues) as a sophomore before COVID-19 ended the season. Then Rocker came out in 2021 in what looked like the best shape he’d ever been in and with a slightly higher release point. He was fantastic early on, but his stuff slipped as the spring progressed (Rocker’s fastball averaged 95 mph in February, but 93 in June). His overall performance at Vanderbilt — 236.2 IP, 321 K, 68 BB, 2.89 ERA against mostly SEC competition — was incredible, especially when viewed in light of his stuff’s inconsistent quality.

Those fluctuations became inextricable from Rocker’s pre-draft profile, though. It meant most teams thought he belonged behind similarly talented, but safer-feeling prospects in the 2021 draft rather than being clearly in the top tier, and Rocker fell a little further than expected on draft night, going 10th overall to the Mets. New York, whose rest-of-draft behavior indicated they had come to an overslot agreement with Rocker, was scared enough of his post-draft physical to squash his deal. He pitched in the independent Frontier League in 2022 and his velocity was mostly back, but again his arm slot had totally changed and was much lower than when he finished up at Vanderbilt. The Rangers surprised everyone when they made Rocker, who was ranked 60th on my draft board and evaluated as a quick-moving reliever, a top five pick in the next year’s draft, albeit at an under-slot amount.

Rocker pitched in the 2022 Arizona Fall League, where his slider looked incredible and his 95-97 mph fastball played down due to its tailing shape and his fringe command of it. He looked like he was projected: A quick-moving reliever who you want in the big leagues pronto, while he’s healthy. Sadly, Rocker’s elbow blew out in May of 2023 and he had Tommy John, shelving him until he made his first rehab appearance a few days before this update. Rocker touched 99 mph and worked two innings. It looks like the Rangers are going to keep developing him as a starter, and unless the big league club gets hot soon and is suddenly both contending and in desperate need of a good reliever, there’s no reason to ‘pen Rocker right now. He’s still projected here as a contender’s third bullpen banana due to his health track record and “round down” fastball playability. It’s conceivable he could debut during the second half of 2024.

10. Jack Leiter, SIRP

Drafted: 1st Round, 2021 from Vanderbilt (TEX)
Age 24.2 Height 6′ 1″ Weight 205 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Curveball Changeup Cutter Command Sits/Tops
60/65 55/60 40/45 40/40 50/50 30/40 95-97 / 99

I thought the way Leiter’s fastball plays would help enable him to work as a starter despite imprecise feel for location, but more and more that’s looking like it won’t be possible. Leiter continues to start at Triple-A Round Rock and has made a couple of spot starts in the big leagues this year, but his walk rates are still elevated and the visual assessment of his command remains poor. I think especially while Leiter has several option years remaining, he’s likely to remain a starter. It’s too important for contending teams like Texas to have optionable starter depth to get through a season. He has the rest of his option years to develop in the rotation, but as those run dry, it becomes more and more probable that Leiter will move to the bullpen.

He is sitting 96 and touching 99 as a starter while generating seven feet of extension and plus vertical break. If you want to be optimistic about the future of Leiter’s release consistency, you can look at the way MacKenzie Gore righted the ship after he had severe strike-throwing issues with the Padres; similar to Gore, the explosiveness of Leiter’s fastball should give him some margin for error in the zone. He’s been homer-prone as a pro, which is somewhat inherent in the way Leiter has to work with his fastball in order to miss bats — he yields a ton of fly balls. The heater alone should allow Leiter to be a very good reliever in the event that he does move to the bullpen, even if he doesn’t experience a velo bump when he does. He has a five-pitch mix but only the fastball and slider are consistently good, and that’s funneling his forecast toward the bullpen as well. I’d expect Leiter to pitch in a spot start or backend capacity for another year or so before he’s shifted into the bullpen, where I think he’ll be one of the club’s best couple of relievers. His stuff is projected in anticipation of the move.

11. Yeremi Cabrera, CF

Signed: International Signing Period, 2022 from Dominican Republic (TEX)
Age 19.0 Height 5′ 11″ Weight 170 Bat / Thr L / L FV 40+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
20/30 55/60 25/60 55/55 40/45 45

Cabrera signed for $10,000 in 2022 and spent two seasons in the DSL, producing enormous in-game power in the second. He came to the U.S. for baseball activity this year and has continued to slug in a profound way on the complex in Surprise en route to the ACL home run lead.

If you catch Cabrera on the right day, he looks like a mini Juan Soto. His swing specifically is a dead ringer for Soto’s in that it is ferocious and also geared for lift in the extreme. Cabrera has rare ability to uppercut the baseball basically all over the zone. He’s even on an uphill path through the very top of the strike zone, à la Soto and Anthony Volpe. You can see this watching Cabrera swing a handful of times, but when you dig into the data, it’s even more extreme. Cabrera has an average launch angle of 27 degrees. Only Daulton Varsho (also 27 degrees) is even in that neighborhood among current big leaguers. This isn’t necessarily a good thing — part of the reason there’s only one big leaguer with similar launch is because it isn’t a sustainable way to approach big league pitching unless you’re pretty special. Cabrera’s bat speed and rotational verve is such that I think he’ll be able to get to most of his considerable raw power in games but, like Varsho, it’s going to come at the expense of his batting average in a severe way. Cabrera’s breaking ball recognition also isn’t awesome, which adds to the strikeout component of his profile.

Scouts sitting on Texas in the ACL haven’t all gushed about Cabrera. Plenty see him as a fringe fit in center field and then get scared of his contact profile once they project him to an outfield corner. How Cabrera’s plate discipline evolves is going to be key for his profile. His swing works in such a way that he basically can’t make contact with pitches that aren’t in the strike zone (he has a 50% O-Contact% as of publication, 65% overall), and he’ll ideally develop something more than the average plate discipline he has right now. This is a player who’s really fun to scout in person and on the spreadsheet, and one of the more fascinating young hitters in the minors. I like what’s happening here enough to have the equivalent of a mid-first round draft grade on Cabrera. He’s freaky in mostly good ways and has legit plus bat speed. He’s probably going to be a flawed big league hitter but will do enough damage to be a good one anyway.

12. Aidan Curry, SP

Undrafted Free Agent, 2020 (TEX)
Age 22.0 Height 6′ 5″ Weight 185 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Changeup Command Sits/Tops
50/60 50/60 40/50 30/45 93-95 / 96

Most 2020 undrafted free agents were college prospects, but the super lanky Curry signed out of high school and put himself on the prospect map with a stunning first full season in pro ball that saw him post a 30% K% and 9% BB% across 88 innings. Because of his size and burgeoning arm strength, he was an offseason Pick to Click.

Curry has taken a half step back at Hickory this season and is running an ERA over 7.00 as of list publication. This is despite Curry’s fastball velocity climbing again. It’s up a tick from last year, sitting 93-95. Curry mixes four- and two-seamers, and those plus his slider make up the lion’s share of his pitch usage right now. Neither of his fastballs is performing especially well; they look pretty average and lack substantial difference in their movement. Curry’s 81-84 mph slider is still his bread-and-butter and projects to a plus pitch at maturity. He also has a slower curveball and firm changeup, but their usage has been scant. My notes last year had Curry’s changeup cutting on him often. That isn’t happening so much any more and I still like the long-term projection of his change because of how loose and whippy his arm is.

I’d really like to see Curry take a step forward from a strength and conditioning standpoint. He’s lanky and tall, but his frame isn’t well-composed; he looks like he could be so much stronger and more athletic than he is right now. Given that Curry’s looseness is a big part of his talent, I wouldn’t want him to overdo it and tighten up. But most big league pitchers have an element of strength to them that Curry does not right now. I still think his long-term upside is exciting, but I’ve dialed down my aggressive grade from last year’s cycle and think there’s a greater chance Curry becomes a reliever.

13. Kohl Drake, SP

Drafted: 11th Round, 2023 from Walters State CC (TN) (TEX)
Age 24.0 Height 6′ 5″ Weight 220 Bat / Thr L / L FV 40+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Curveball Changeup Command Sits/Tops
60/60 50/55 30/40 50/60 91-94 / 95

Drake’s fastball averaged 89 mph last year at Walters State but has been more 91-94 and up to 95 in 2024. It has big time life and Drake hides the ball well, which has allowed it to dominate hitters so far in pro ball. This has enabled him to rocket across three minor league levels in the first half of his first full season. Drake is throwing fastballs a ton (nearly 60% of the time) and living in the up/away location where it plays best. His short arm action is repeatable and efficient, and there are starter-quality strikes and size here, as Drake is a hulking 6-foot-5. He also has an above-average low-80s curveball with 10-to-4 movement. Ideally he’ll improve his changeup (it seems possible, as this was a JUCO guy 12 months ago) and have a cozier starter’s mix, but Drake’s performance to this point suggests his fastball is a juggernaut that might allow him to start on its own. He has 94 strikeouts and 17 walks in just shy of 60 innings as of list publication, and he’s on pace to compete for a big league role at some point next year. He may ultimately be a fastball-heavy reliever, but that’s still a huge win for Drake and the Rangers’ scouting and dev personnel.

14. Izack Tiger, SIRP

Drafted: 7th Round, 2023 from Butler County CC (KS) (TEX)
Age 23.4 Height 6′ 1″ Weight 175 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Command Sits/Tops
65/65 55/60 40/50 95-97 / 98

A multi-year junior college pitcher, perhaps no player in the Cactus League Spring Breakout games broke out like Tiger did. He came out of the bullpen and sat 96-98 with explosive life and a buck nasty 88-90 mph cutter/slider that likes to live at the top of the zone. Tiger began the regular season back in extended spring training rehabbing an elbow injury and was only sent to an affiliate a couple weeks ago. He’s starting and has pitched as deep as the fifth inning. There’s very exciting arm strength and breaking ball quality here, and because Tiger was a JUCO pick, his other pitches might just be scratching the surface. Even if Tiger treads water, he’s still going to be a good reliever.

15. Marc Church, SIRP

Drafted: 18th Round, 2019 from North Atlanta HS (GA) (TEX)
Age 23.3 Height 6′ 3″ Weight 190 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Cutter Command Sits/Tops
60/60 60/70 30/40 94-96 / 97

A 2019 18th-rounder out of North Atlanta High School, Church didn’t play an affiliated game until 2021 but has already ascended to Triple-A as a pure reliever. He has setup man stuff that is playing down right now due to inconsistent feel for release that caused him to walk 38 hitters in 62 innings last year. Church sits 94-97 mph, and it is very difficult for opposing hitters to get on top of his heater when he’s locating at the top of the zone. That wasn’t the case last year; his slider missed bats at a more consistent clip in 2023 than in 2022. It looks just like his fastball out of the hand, bites late, and slips beneath the barrels of hitters trying to stay on top of his heater. There is a good bit of effort to his delivery and some violence about his head and shoulders, enough that you can see why he’s worked only in relief as a pro. He was shut down after just a couple of 2024 outings with a shoulder strain (he was in his usual velo band during his first several appearances) and hasn’t returned as of list publication.

40 FV Prospects

16. Paulino Santana, RF

Signed: International Signing Period, 2024 from Dominican Republic (TEX)
Age 17.7 Height 6′ 1″ Weight 170 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
20/40 40/55 20/50 55/55 30/55 55

There was a time when my sources connected Santana to the Dodgers, but in the months leading up to international amateurs signing in January, something changed and he suddenly had a $1.3 million agreement with Texas. Santana played a little bit for the Arkansas Sticks travel ball team (Logan O’Hoppe, Jonathan Ornelas, Jaden Hill and many others have worn that uni) and stood apart from all but a few talented U.S. high schoolers at the events he attended. He’s an explosive rotational athlete with a tendency to inside-out pitches to right field. His proclivity for opposite field contact is so extreme that it’s actually a bit concerning, as Santana’s barrel takes forever to get to a spot where he’d be able to pull the ball with power. He has the best feel to hit of any of the Rangers’ DSL prospects and is also among the most projectable.

17. Owen White, SP

Drafted: 2nd Round, 2018 from Carson HS (NC) (TEX)
Age 24.9 Height 6′ 3″ Weight 199 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Curveball Changeup Cutter Command Sits/Tops
35/35 55/55 50/50 45/50 60/60 45/45 92-94 / 96

Once a 50 FV prospect, White’s stuff keeled off in 2023 as he lost a couple of ticks from his fastball, and he’s continued to sit about 93 in the PCL this year. His fastball doesn’t have the life needed to play at that velo; on the contrary, its shape tends to find barrels. There was a while when White started throwing more cutters as a way to mitigate this, but that doesn’t seem to be the case this year, as he has thrown a fastball 57% of the time combined between his four-seamers and sinkers. His cutter/slider is still pretty nasty when located well, but White’s overall package looks like a backend starter. He’s thrown one big league inning this year after briefly debuting in 2023.

18. Mitch Bratt, SP

Drafted: 5th Round, 2021 from Georgia Premier Academy (GA) (TEX)
Age 21.0 Height 6′ 1″ Weight 190 Bat / Thr L / L FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Changeup Cutter Command Sits/Tops
45/45 50/55 45/50 45/50 35/60 89-93 / 94

Bratt continues to track like a high-floored backend starter because of his command and deception. When Bratt was drafted it was hoped that his lanky frame would fill out and yield more velocity. That hasn’t happened, but Bratt has carved the lower minors anyway and has a 3.53 career ERA in his 30 High-A appearances. He spent last year at Hickory as well, but a lat strain cut his season in half. His walk rate has dipped into elite territory this year as Bratt toys with hitters at the top of the strike zone. Indeed, everything he is trying to do involves using the upper boundary of the zone, including with pitch types that one wouldn’t ordinarily associate with higher locations.

Bratt hides the ball forever, has a clean, repeatable arm action, and generates rise-and-run action on his 90 mph fastball. He’ll locate it above the zone to set up his two breaking balls, which start high and then bend into the strike zone at different speeds and depths. Even Bratt’s changeup tends to occupy the upper half of the strike zone, tailing away from it to his arm side rather than finish with sink. It generates awkward swings and is getting a lot of groundballs for the second straight year. This is a very interesting profile powered by Bratt’s craftsmanship and command. He’s tracking like a post-2025 40-man addition and eventual backend starter.

19. Joseph Montalvo, SP

Drafted: 20th Round, 2021 from Central Pointe Christian (FL) (TEX)
Age 22.2 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 185 Bat / Thr S / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Changeup Command Sits/Tops
40/50 50/60 40/55 35/60 91-94 / 97

Montalvo has a very athletic drop-and-drive delivery with big hip/shoulder separation that may portend more velocity even though he’s a smaller-framed guy. He’s run a sub-3.00 ERA at every minor league level, including at High-A this year, because Montalvo’s command weaponizes below-average stuff that might keep improving. His fastball already punches above its weight because of its uphill angle, and Montalvo has feel for a long-bending low-80s slider that flashes plus length and will likely play plus at maturity because of his command. He also has a mid-80s changeup that flashes bat-missing tail, but it tends to have early action that puts hitters off the scent, and Montalvo uses it sparingly. Montalvo’s capacity for movement and lower body athleticism is exciting and makes me want to project on his stuff quality into his mid-20s. He’s thrown a ton of strikes in the low minors and stands a good shot to be a no. 4/5 starter down the line. He’s Rule 5 eligible this offseason and might be kept at High-A all year in effort to keep him off the Rule 5 radar. He’s more likely to be rostered after next season and debut in 2026, probably as a spot starter.

Drafted: 6th Round, 2023 from Harmony HS (FL) (TEX)
Age 19.3 Height 6′ 5″ Weight 180 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Curveball Changeup Command Sits/Tops
40/55 40/55 40/55 20/45 87-91 / 95

Scarborough was one of the more projectable high schooler pitchers in the 2023 draft at a gangly 6-foot-5. He didn’t pitch after he signed last year and has only made one start in 2024 as of list publication. His next day to throw is likely the day this list comes out. I’ll update his blurb if he really, really pops, which seems possible considering how many other arrow-up arms there are on this list. For now, here’s his blurb from draft time: Scarborough’s balance, bounce, and body control at his size are all pretty remarkable and make him very exciting even though the best velo he’s shown (peaking in the 95-97 range) has come in shorts and a t-shirt. More often during varsity play he would peak in the low-90s, but as is often the case with athletes built like Scarborough, at some point he’s going to start to get stronger and throw harder. Scarborough’s arm stroke is true and beautiful, and usually on time. His arm speed and mobility are very exciting for an athlete this size, as is his balance over his blocking leg. He can also create big depth on his curveball, which needs more power. Scarborough is one of the sneakier over-slot Day Two draftees.

21. Cody Freeman, 3B

Drafted: 4th Round, 2019 from Etiwanda HS (CA) (TEX)
Age 23.5 Height 5′ 10″ Weight 185 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
35/50 35/40 20/30 40/30 30/45 50

The Rangers have dispensed with trying to convert Freeman to catcher and he was playing third base exclusively this year before a couple recent games at second base. Freeman’s arm accuracy can be mixed, but he’s otherwise a very good low-to-the-ground defender with plus hands and footwork, and range that’s a tick below average. He smothers short hops especially well.

On offense, Freeman continues to make plus rates of contact and, despite his shorter stature, he consistently hits the ball hard. Freeman is a punctual hitter who covers the very top of the strike zone well. He has dangerous pull-side power versus breaking balls but tends to be limited to all-fields singles spray against fastballs. If he can effectively re-engage with second base (the last time Freeman played there regularly was 2019), he’ll be more rosterable. Right now he looks like an above-replacement third baseman who’ll eventually get a long-term opportunity with a rebuilding club to see if his hit tool can hold up to big league stuff.

22. Jacob Latz, SIRP

Drafted: 5th Round, 2017 from Kent State (TEX)
Age 28.3 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 185 Bat / Thr R / L FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Curveball Changeup Command Sits/Tops
55/55 50/50 45/45 65/65 40/40 94-96 / 98

Latz has had a litany of injuries and ended up getting stem cell therapy late in 2019 to try to avoid surgery. He was then healthy for a few years (and got a cup of coffee in 2021) before a shoulder issue popped up in 2022 and the Rangers moved him to the bullpen when he returned. Latz experienced a two-tick velo bump with the move; his heater averaged 94.5 mph in 2023 and he’s back in that area again in 2024. Latz has three big league-quality weapons in his heater, a plus changeup (which often finishes high but garners a ton of chase) and his 82-85 mph slider. He also has an upper-70s curveball with pretty good depth that he deploys on occasion. His changeup has allowed Latz to deal with hitters of either handedness in a middle-inning capacity.

23. Cole Winn, SIRP

Drafted: 1st Round, 2018 from Orange Lutheran HS (CA) (TEX)
Age 24.6 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 190 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Splitter Command Sits/Tops
50/50 55/55 55/60 30/40 94-96 / 98

In a 2018 draft without a ton of college pitching, Winn was seen as a safe facsimile because of his deep repertoire and polish relative to most high schoolers. His career to this point has run counter to that evaluation, and the Rangers put him in the bullpen in the middle of 2023. After struggling initially, Winn pitched well at Round Rock during the first half of 2024 (11 K/9, 2 BB/9) en route to what I imagine was a cathartic big league debut for a number of parties. The strikeouts didn’t translate to the big league level in a small sample and Winn was put on the 60-Day IL with a strained shoulder capsule at the end of June. If you’re inclined to bet on big, prototypical pitching frames as I am, then Winn should still be in your mix as a solid middle reliever. He’s sitting 95, is up to 98, and has scrapped his once trademark curveball in favor of a hard slider/splitter combo, with each flashing bat-missing ability. I don’t think he’s ticketed for late-inning work or anything, but relievers with three viable weapons who can face hitters of either handedness tend to find their way into middle relief duty.

24. Carson Coleman, SIRP

Undrafted Free Agent, 2020 (NYY)
Age 26.3 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 190 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Command Sits/Tops
70/70 40/50 30/35 94-97 / 98

Coleman had Tommy John in early April of 2023 and hasn’t returned yet; the Rangers took him in the Rule 5 Draft this past offseason. Prior to his injury, the Yankees were able to add about four ticks to his fastball relative to when he signed after the 2020 draft, and when you combine the mid-90s velocity with his heater’s nasty uphill angle and tailing action, healthy Coleman now has a vicious plus-plus fastball. That is almost solely why he was able to punch 95 tickets in just 63.1 innings throughout a 2022 season spent mostly as Somerset’s closer. His command and secondary pitches are all well below average, and at least one other aspect of Coleman’s skill set needs to evolve if he’s going to an impact big leaguer, but if he develops another plus characteristic, he’ll have a chance to work late innings. His slider (which hitters struggle to parse from his fastball, but which Coleman struggles to locate) is his best shot.

25. Brock Porter, SP

Drafted: 4th Round, 2022 from Orchard Lakes St. Mary’s HS (MI) (TEX)
Age 21.1 Height 6′ 4″ Weight 208 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Changeup Command Sits/Tops
40/50 50/55 55/60 20/40 90-94 / 97

This one is currently off the rails. Porter was one of the more talented high school pitchers in the 2022 draft and was the Rangers’ over-slot target as a result of their very early under-slot deal with Kumar Rocker. Porter has struggled with control in pro ball, though early on his stuff looked close to its high school peak. More recently Porter was so wild at High-A early this year that he was shut down and sent to Arizona to recalibrate. He has thrown in ACL games a couple of times leading up to list publication and his velocity is way, way down compared to peak. A source who saw one of his first two starts had him sitting 90-92 (he was 92-94 in the Spring Breakout game), and Porter imploded again the night before list publication at the Giants’ complex, where he sat 90. Obviously this guy is going through it right now. It’s plausible he and the Rangers will find a way to both overcome his walk issues and help his suddenly below-average velocity rebound, but if you’re lining up this system without taking into account how sharp his stuff used to be and are thinking about it as a snapshot of its current state, (or if you think about Porter from a trade value standpoint), then he’s arguably off the board entirely right now. Here I have the luxury of simply warning you that this is not going well while factoring my previous evaluations of Porter into his current grade.

Signed: International Signing Period, 2021 from Dominican Republic (TEX)
Age 20.0 Height 6′ 0″ Weight 215 Bat / Thr L / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
30/35 55/60 35/50 30/30 30/40 60

Figueroa’s physicality enabled him to dominate rookie ball. He slugged .616 and hit nine homers in 35 games during the 2022 ACL, but he was greeted rudely by full-season pitching, which held him to a .220/.300/.323 line in 2023. He slugged his way out of Low-A in the first half of 2024 and was promoted to High-A shortly before list publication.

Figueroa has a very entertaining lefty uppercut swing that generates huge pull power. He’s allergic to spin and is hitting .135 versus breakers in 2024 as of list publication. Already approaching the line between muscular and thick, Figueroa is going to have to keep his build in check to remain at third base. He has the arm to play there but the plays he tries to make tend to unfold too slowly and result in superfluous bang-bang plays at first base. A 1B/3B defensive combo probably keeps Figueroa on the roster as a part-time corner slugger if he can continue to improve his defense. His contact issues will probably prevent him from being an everyday player.

27. Skylar Hales, SIRP

Drafted: 4th Round, 2023 from Santa Clara (TEX)
Age 22.7 Height 6′ 4″ Weight 220 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Command Sits/Tops
55/60 55/60 30/45 92-95 / 97

A tightly wound low-slot reliever with a mid-90s fastball, Hales was reaching back for some 96s and 97s during Santa Clara’s 2023 postseason run. The long reliever worked 55.1 innings across 22 appearances as a junior. He’s more often been deployed in a single-inning capacity in 2024 and dominated the Sally League before a recent promotion to Double-A. Hales’ approach to fastball location in college didn’t make a ton of sense and he’s working more at the top of the strike zone with his heater as a pro. The horizontal split between his fastball and slider makes it tough for righties to cover both sides of the plate, creating some hamate-threatening action in on their hands and a lot of awkward takes against his slider. Hales doesn’t really have a weapon for lefties; he tries to pitch backwards and then win with velo up and away from them. They really only need to cover the arm-side half against him and so Hales is looking like a righty-dominant middle reliever.

28. Dane Acker, MIRP

Drafted: 4th Round, 2020 from Oklahoma (OAK)
Age 25.3 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 210 Bat / Thr R / R FV 40
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Curveball Changeup Command Sits/Tops
50/55 45/50 50/50 55/60 40/40 92-95 / 97

Acker was topping out around 93 mph at Oklahoma before the 2020 shutdown, was drafted by Oakland that year, and then was traded to Texas as part of the Jonah Heim/Elvis Andrus deal during the offseason. The next spring he came out sitting 94-99, but he blew out after just a few regular season starts and needed TJ. Acker barely pitched in 2022 and was wild when he did, which is common coming off TJ. His walk rates continued in the 11-13% range in 2023 as Acker climbed to Double-A, which is where he has been again in 2024. He’s never returned to the upper-90s peak of his first pro spring, but Acker is still sitting 92-95 with above-average life.

His delivery is quite a bit different than when Acker was in college. He gets to a due north arm slot more comfortably via a short and open stride toward the plate. He deploys a four-pitch mix headlined by his changeup, which he’ll throw to both left- and right-handed hitters. His curveball has lovely shape and dual utility as both a strike-getter and a finishing pitch, but good upper-level hitters are starting to identify it out of hand, and I think it’s going to be more vulnerable to SLG versus big leaguers. A football-style slider rounds out a mix that I think will play best in low-leverage long relief.

35+ FV Prospects

29. Braylin Morel, RF

Signed: International Signing Period, 2023 from Dominican Republic (TEX)
Age 18.5 Height 6′ 0″ Weight 230 Bat / Thr R / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
20/40 50/60 25/55 40/30 30/40 50

Morel signed for just under $100,000 in 2023. He’s a very physical teenage outfielder who is still listed at a comical 180 pounds on his player page. In reality, he’s pushing closer to 230 pounds already at age 18 and has the kind of raw power you’d expect given a young hitter that size. Morel’s hit tool is a bit suspect. His ability to do damage is limited to a relatively narrow part of the zone, but he could feasibly be a power-over-hit corner guy in the Nelson Velázquez mold.

30. Ryan Lobus, MIRP

Undrafted Free Agent, 2023 (TEX)
Age 23.8 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 180 Bat / Thr R / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Changeup Cutter Command Sits/Tops
45/45 60/60 30/40 50/50 35/60 90-93 / 94

Lobus has been a nice undrafted find and has a WHIP just a hair over 1.00 at High-A so far this season. He has solid velocity for a sidearmer, sitting 90-93 with tail. He peppers the glove side of the plate with cutters that finish near the top of the zone and sliders that finish in the dirt. Righties struggle to parse his fastball and slider from one another out of hand, and Lobus locates well. He tries to crowd lefties with cutters. Lobus has a really great chance to be a low-leverage long reliever because of his funk and command.

31. Daniel Robert, SIRP

Drafted: 21th Round, 2018 from Auburn (TEX)
Age 29.9 Height 6′ 4″ Weight 210 Bat / Thr R / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Command Sits/Tops
55/55 60/60 40/40 95-97 / 99

Robert was a two-way player at Auburn but he mostly hit, throwing fewer than 16 innings in college. He only started pitching full-time in 2018 and then missed time due to the pandemic and injuries, and he’s been kept alive on the Rangers prospect list for the last couple of years even though he’s pushing 30. Robert was called up just a couple days before list publication and made his big league debut.

Robert has been carving Triple-A this season (35.1% K%, 6.1% BB%) using a sweeper-heavy approach. Nearly 60% of his pitches are mid-80s sweepers, which he uses both as a chase pitch and to get ahead of righties. He mixes in two fastball variants, one a letter-high chase offering, the other a sinker version to his arm side. There’s an occasional changeup here too, but they aren’t very good. This is a pretty standard low-leverage relief look, but it’s a great story for an almost 30-year-old rookie conversion arm to make it at all.

32. Davis Wendzel, 3B

Drafted: 1st Round, 2019 from Baylor (TEX)
Age 27.1 Height 6′ 0″ Weight 206 Bat / Thr R / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
50/55 50/50 40/40 40/40 55/55 60

Wendzel was a draft-eligible sophomore in 2018 and had a strong offensive season, but he wasn’t drafted high enough to sign in part because of his conditioning and then had to swim upstream against models as a junior because he was over 22 on draft day. He has dealt with health issues since college, which, along with the pandemic, prevented him from playing more than 45 games at any single affiliate in a given season until 2022, when he had an awful 66 wRC+ at Round Rock and was left off Texas’ 40-man roster. He rebounded in 2023 with 30 homers, but he was only a hair above the league average in terms of overall offense. Injuries to Josh Jung and Justin Foscue facilitated Wendzel’s big league debut in April and he now has enough big league roster days to lose rookie status.

He’s cut his Triple-A strikeout rate in half via a swing change. Wendzel’s hack now looks like a carbon copy of Foscue’s, with more of a toe point stride than his previous leg kick, and a super shallow load to keep him short to the ball. Wendzel is an above-average third base defender with experience at several other positions, but he lacks the physical tools to play them unless it’s an emergency. He’s an above-replacement third baseman whose new swing might facilitate an everyday opportunity with a lesser club that wants to see if he can sustain his 2024 strikeout avoidance over a longer period of time.

33. Liam Hicks, C

Drafted: 9th Round, 2021 from Arkansas State (TEX)
Age 25.1 Height 5′ 9″ Weight 185 Bat / Thr L / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
55/60 30/30 30/30 30/30 30/40 40

Hicks is an undersized catcher with fantastic bat-to-ball ability. He’s striking out at just a 13.7% clip throughout his pro career and he’s continued to make plus rates of contact all the way through Double-A. He swings bent at the waist with his hands over the top of the zone, which helps Hicks’ bat path take a pretty extreme vertical angle through contact. Plus contact and consistent lift are undercut by his lack of raw power. He’s a smaller guy and doesn’t have big juice. Hicks has also struggled to develop on defense. Too often he just whiffs on catching pitches and he gives up a ton of long rebounds. His special feel for hitting should still allow him to play forever and accrue some big league time as a team’s fourth catcher.

34. Abimelec Ortiz, 1B

Undrafted Free Agent, 2021 (TEX)
Age 22.4 Height 6′ 0″ Weight 230 Bat / Thr L / L FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Hit Raw Power Game Power Run Fielding Throw
35/40 55/60 35/55 20/20 30/40 50

Last year I wrote Ortiz up as a second-division first baseman or good corner platoon guy. His 2024 performance at the plate has come entirely undone and he’s hitting under .200 as of list publication. A husky, hard-swinging undrafted free agent, Ortiz hit 33 bombs and slugged over .600 across both A-ball levels last year. He had been chase- and strikeout-prone, but it looked like he was going to get to plus power in games despite that. Ironically, his underlying contact data is better than it was last year, it’s Abi’s power that’s down. Put on the tape lately and he’s been a mess. His pre-swing movements are so numerous and noisy that he’s often late to the contact point. I don’t want to rob Ortiz of his explosiveness, but that probably needs a tweak. This is a profile in distress. The bottom sometimes falls out for hitters as swing-happy as Ortiz, but not usually this suddenly and starkly unless it happens at the big league level.

35. Tyler Owens, SIRP

Drafted: 13th Round, 2019 from Trinity Catholic HS (GA) (ATL)
Age 23.5 Height 5′ 10″ Weight 185 Bat / Thr R / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Cutter Command Sits/Tops
65/65 40/40 40/45 40/40 94-97 / 99

Acquired from Atlanta for J.P. Martínez, Owens has regularly been into the upper-90s out of Frisco’s bullpen. He’s a smaller guy but is still generating well over six feet of extension on his fastball, which has bat-missing uphill angle at plus speeds. Owens’ slider tunnels well with his fastball in one particular location: when he’s using it as a backdoor offering. It has uncommon velo for a pitch that plays best in this way, in the 85-87 mph range, and some of these might be even be cutters. Owens has had trouble finding a swing-and-miss breaking ball that plays to his glove side. He looks like a fastball-reliant up/down reliever right now. His avenues to a more consistent roster role involve one of his secondary pitches improving, or a leap in fastball command that would let him live in a location where it plays the best.

36. Robby Ahlstrom, SIRP

Drafted: 7th Round, 2021 from Oregon (NYY)
Age 25.1 Height 6′ 3″ Weight 195 Bat / Thr L / L FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Curveball Changeup Command Sits/Tops
50/50 50/50 60/60 40/40 30/35 93-95 / 96

Ahlstrom was drafted by the Yankees but never threw a pitch for the org because he was shut down after he signed and traded just before the start of the 2022 season for Jose Trevino. After one year as a starter, the Rangers moved Ahlstrom to the bullpen and his velocity has climbed into a range that will probably allow him to be a solid up/down lefty reliever despite below-average control. Ahlstrom has raised his arm slot since college and is sitting 95 with ride, often for four to six outs at a time. His two breaking balls vary more in velo than shape. It’s a pretty standard lefty relief mix, and if Ahlstrom can polish his command a shade more than I have projected here, he could easily be a second lefty who’s consistently rostered.

37. Reid Birlingmair, SIRP

Drafted: 28th Round, 2018 from Illinois – Chicago (OAK)
Age 27.7 Height 5′ 10″ Weight 210 Bat / Thr L / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Changeup Cutter Command Sits/Tops
60/60 45/55 40/45 40/40 40/40 94-96 / 98

Birlingmair was released by the A’s at the end of 2022 and the following year was signed out of the independent American Association, where he was pitching for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHaws (Rymer Liriano was on the roster, too). Deep in my old notes I have him sitting 90-91 back in 2021 (I have nothing from 2022), but somehow between when Oakland let him go and when he signed with Texas, Birlingmair added four ticks to his fastball. Late last year and again in 2024 he’s been sitting 94-96 with plus riding life. There isn’t an average secondary pitch here yet, but Birlingmair is super athletic for his size and it seems obvious he’s only been exposed to effective pitching dev for something like two years. I think he’s going to be a feel-good story who gets to wear a big league uniform; whether he can stay will depend on a second pitch coming to the fore. Here I’ve given his slider a shot to do so because it’s what looks nastiest, even if it’s only on occasion.

38. Adrian Rodriguez, SIRP

Drafted: 39th Round, 2019 from Florida Virtual School (TEX)
Age 23.2 Height 6′ 5″ Weight 195 Bat / Thr R / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Command Sits/Tops
60/60 55/60 20/30 96-99 / 100

Drafted in the second-to-last round of the 2019 draft, Rodriguez didn’t pitch the summer after he signed, nor in 2020. In 2021, he walked more than a batter per inning on the complex. The condor-like righty re-established himself as a prospect when he got the walks under control and sat 94-96 in a 2022 season split between the complex and Low-A. He had a velo spike in 2023, sitting 97-99 with riding life at the top of the zone as Down East’s closer, but his control regressed and things have continued that way in 2024, as Rodriguez has walked more than a batter per inning. In addition to his fastball velocity, Rodriguez’s 84-89 mph slider is generating an absurd 70% miss rate as of publication. There’s meaningful relief ceiling here if Rodriguez can ever have even 35-grade control. He’s currently someone you hope blooms late from a strike-throwing standpoint the way Félix Bautista did.

39. Victor Simeon, SIRP

Signed: July 2nd Period, 2018 from Dominican Republic (TEX)
Age 23.6 Height 6′ 2″ Weight 160 Bat / Thr R / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Slider Command Sits/Tops
60/60 70/70 20/30 95-97 / 98

Simeon has only reached full season ball this year at age 23 because he was very wild in rookie ball. He’s still wild — his walk rates aren’t terrible, but when you watch him, he’s all over the place — but he’s too talented to exclude from the list. He might have the fastest arm in the org and is generating upper-90s heat, but Simeon’s well-located breaking balls are his best pitches. They’re 81-84 power breaking balls with huge depth and very late bite. He’s a name to monitor for strike-throwing progress.

40. Ismael Agreda, SIRP

Signed: International Signing Period, 2021 from Venezuela (TEX)
Age 20.8 Height 6′ 0″ Weight 150 Bat / Thr R / R FV 35+
Tool Grades (Present/Future)
Fastball Curveball Changeup Command Sits/Tops
60/60 45/55 40/50 20/40 94-97 / 98

An undersized righty, Agreda has a blazing fast arm and is in the midst of his second consecutive season with an increase in arm strength. He was sitting 94-97 last year and has been 96-98 in 2024 from his usual rock-and-fire delivery with a super short arm action. He’s a powerful on-mound athlete and has incredible present arm strength for a 20-year-old his size, though Agreda doesn’t have good fastball control even though he has a haiku of an arm action. Agreda’s breaking ball quality is much more consistent this year than last, at least in my look. Some of his slower curveballs have 20 mph in separation from his fastballs. He can kill spin on his changeup (1,600 rpm), but his feel for location is so raw it’s tough to project heavily on that offering. This is a fun developmental reliever whose control will dictate the pace of his ascent and ultimate role.

Other Prospects of Note

Grouped by type and listed in order of preference within each category.

Rookie-Level Names to Know
Jose De Jesus, OF
Antonis Macias, 2B
Andry Batista, OF
Pablo Guerrero, OF
Yolfran Castillo, SS
Angel Herrera, OF

De Jesus is a well-rounded switch-hitting center fielder with modest, table-setter’s tools. Macias is a hitterish, medium-framed infielder who looks like he’ll end up in the 2B/3B area on defense and have 45 power. Batista is my favorite of the several big-framed, projectable outfielders in Texas’ DSL group. He’s 6-foot-4 and still growing into his body, but has pretty good baseball feel. He’s hitting .190 right now, but he’s really interesting. Another of Vladdy Sr.’s boys, Guerrero is a 17-year-old power hitter who has already been pushed to the Complex League. He has considerable hit tool risk and no obvious position. Castillo is another lanky DSL hitter but has lesser bat speed. He’s an infielder, though. Herrera, also in the DSL, is a 70 runner in center field.

Arrow Down Guys
Jesus Lopez, C
Ian Moller, C
Anthony Gutierrez, OF
Antoine Kelly, LHP
Ricky DeVito, RHP
Aaron Zavala, OF
Dustin Harris, 1B

Lopez and Moller play a premium position, and you want to keep those guys alive for longer as prospects. Lopez was a Complex League favorite of mine last year, but his tools have backed up. Moller’s issues on defense remain mostly unchanged, but he’s still hitting enough to hope they’ll improve. If you’re a Rangers fan who has been following my updates on their system for the last several years, you might already know that I haven’t really been on Anthony Gutierrez during his lifetime as a prospect. I can absolutely see why the Rangers and others have been excited about him, but his lever length and chase have kept him in this section of the list throughout his career, and that stuff is starting to have a more meaningful impact on his offensive performance as he gets deeper into full-season ball. Kelly was a junior college draftee who struggled to stay healthy during his time with the Brewers. He was traded to Texas as part of the 2022 Matt Bush swap and aside from 2023, when he first moved to the bullpen, his feel for release has been so out of control that he’s walked a batter per inning or more for huge chunks of his career. He has an ideal pitcher’s build, rare mid-90s arm strength for a lefty, and a huge-breaking slider. He was DFA’ed Monday. The rest of this group has struggled for the better part of the last two years, especially those corner bats, and it’s tough to consider them prospects when that’s the case.

27th Man Types
Josh Stephan, RHP
Jax Biggers, UTIL
Echedry Vargas, 2B
Blaine Crim, 1B

Stephan’s stuff was just a little too light to make the main section of the list. He’s a lower slot pitchability righty with an east/west attack and is barely walking anybody at Double-A. Biggers has plus plate skills and solid-average feel for the barrel. He’s limited to an up/down utility role (2B/3B/SS/LF) due to his 30-grade pop. I don’t think Vargas has the arm for shortstop, and his chase is going to make it tough for his offense to profile at second base. I know his surface stats are great right now, but his underlying stuff is not as strong and neither was his tape. Crim’s 2024 performance has dipped compared to his usually steady minor league production, but he’s still hitting the ball hard at Round Rock. Righty-hitting first base profiles are tough, and Crim has tended to be in this section of the Rangers list even when he’s raking. He’d be an interesting target for an Asian pro team.

Weirdos
Geisel Cepeda, OF
Chase Lee, RHP
Jackson Kelley, RHP
Arturo Disla, 1B

Cepeda is a well-built Cuban outfielder in his mid-20s who has been very hard to strike out. He hits for almost no power and his swing is super weird, but if it can ever get to a place that taps into more power, he could be a late breakout guy. Lee and Kelley are submarine relievers. Disla was an undrafted free agent from an NAIA school who was sent to the DSL last year. He’s a husky guy with high-effort bat speed. It’s a lot of fun to watch him swing as hard as he can.

System Overview

With the top two guys on this list graduating, Texas’ farm system is a little worse than average. Langford carries so much weight that his graduation alone is a huge blow to the way the system grades out. But when your big league team has a Wyatt Langford, who cares? The Rocker/Porter draft probably wasn’t a great idea, but it isn’t as if the realistic alternatives from 2022 are killing it. This system is very thin on hitters, so thin that I think it should be a priority for the org in the upcoming draft. I wonder if the Rangers could make a blockbuster deadline deal if they wanted to without parting with guys from the big league team, because aside from Walcott, they lack a potential impact player to move.

The pitching in this org has generally gotten better. Several of these players are throwing harder, or have made a significant change to their stuff or deliveries compared to last season. It will help ensure this window of contention isn’t hamstrung by a lack of pitching depth. On depth, this is an average system. With the two outfielders graduating, the top tier is a little light.





Eric Longenhagen is from Catasauqua, PA and currently lives in Tempe, AZ. He spent four years working for the Phillies Triple-A affiliate, two with Baseball Info Solutions and two contributing to prospect coverage at ESPN.com. Previous work can also be found at Sports On Earth, CrashburnAlley and Prospect Insider.

31 Comments
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Uncle Spikemember since 2020
2 months ago

Yeremi Cabrera is an interesting one. I understand Eric’s grade on him as his bust rate is likely high, however, seems like his ceiling is equally as high. Seems like a Picks to Click candidate.

sadtrombonemember since 2020
2 months ago
Reply to  Uncle Spike

I am now extremely interested in seeing how Cabrera turns out. Everything about his profile is interesting to me.

Right now, he sounds a lot like a guy who will have super weird offensive in the Byron Buxton mold, even though he probably doesn have Buxton’s raw power and definitely doesn’t have the defense. Other guys like this include Nolan Gorman, Adam Duvall, Patrick Wisdom, and Cal Raleigh. But if he really can lift the ball anywhere in the zone and can reach it everywhere in the zone then improving his pitch recognition could turn him into a monster. Like, Jack Cust who can run.

Ivan_Grushenkomember since 2016
2 months ago
Reply to  sadtrombone

This sounds like Adolis García. A lot less power than Cust or Gallo or Rob Deer

sadtrombonemember since 2020
2 months ago
Reply to  Ivan_Grushenko

Yeah, maybe not Cust, he probably has less raw power than Cust. Definitely less raw power than Gallo. Maybe Pat Burrell or Max Muncy is the high-end outcome.

tomerafan
2 months ago
Reply to  sadtrombone

Would you really put Nolan Gorman in that same bucket? I’m not talking about MLB results thus far, but rather the next 5 years.

sadtrombonemember since 2020
2 months ago
Reply to  tomerafan

I can’t tell if you think he is better than those other hitters or worse but I do think that they collectively paint a nice picture (with the variation between them) of what it looks like when you try to uppercut the ball on every swing.

tomerafan
2 months ago
Reply to  sadtrombone

I like Gorman better than the rest of that list. I see him starting to adjust.z