Texas Rangers Top Prospect Ranks Among Best Shortstops in Minor Leagues

MLB Pipeline has posted their top 10 rankings for shortstop prospects heading into 2025, and one Texas Rangers player made the cut.

A view of the field and the USA flag before the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

MLB Pipeline has been rolling out its Top 10 prospect rankings for each position on the diamond, and their most recent addition was the list for shortstops.

Among the premier young talents of the position is Texas Rangers' top prospect Sebastian Walcott, who came in at fourth on the index.

Walcott has been one of the fastest-rising prospects in baseball after an exceptional 2024 season, and is now seen among Carson Williams, Jordan Lawlar, and Marcelo Mayer at the top of the shortstop prospect group.

Walcott was part of the Rangers' 2023 international free agency class, signing for $3.2 million, the sixth-highest in his class.

In his first season with Texas, he started with the Dominican Summer League, followed by a move stateside to the Arizona Complex League, and High-A, a rarity among first-year international players. He hit a solid .246 across all three levels.

Last season he really showed what he could do, as he started the season at High-A Hickory, improving to the point where he garnered a promotion to AA in the later part of the season.

At Hickory, he produced at a well above average level, playing in 121 games and slashing .265/.344/.796 with 64 runs, 56 RBI, 11 home runs, nine triples, and 53 walks to 132 strikeouts. While the Rangers hope he limits his strikeouts down the road, he was able to generate strong offensive firepower.

His work in the field at shortstop was not perfect, but it improved over the course of the season. At both Hickory ad Double-A Frisco he had 81 starts at shortstop, where put together 700.2 innings of work with 102 putouts, 150 assists, 30 double plays turned and 24 errors, whcih was good for a .910 fielding rate in high-A and 1.000 rate in AA.

He initially got work at third base to the tune of about 168 innings in Hickory. But, he had five errors in that span (.886 fielding rate), which pushed him over to shortstop.

In addition to this productive season in the Rangers farm system, he was also named to the 2024 All-Star Futures Game, and got two at bats in the game and run time in the field. He also participated in the All-Star Futures Skills Competition.

Getting the opportunity to play with some of the best prospects in the entire sport at only 18 years of age is an enormous deal, and an indication of the level of potential he truly has.