Spring Training Has Improved Stock of Former Texas Rangers Top Prospect

One of the Texas Rangers' former highly-ranked prospects has been improving his outlook during the spring.

Texas Rangers third baseman Jonathan Ornelas bats against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the third inning at Surprise Stadium | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have been able to put together a relatively strong farm system in recent years, with players like Sebastian Walcott, Kumar Rocker, Jack Leiter and Alejandro Rosario headlining the top class of prospects.

However, other top prospects who have stuck around with the team are now trying to make an impact of their own as they push for a spot on the roster.

One of those players is infielder Jonathan Ornelas, a former highly-ranked prospect in the Rangers system.

The 2018 third-round pick ranked 18th in their pipeline in 2019 on the MLB.com rankings. However, he would fall down to 27th in 2020, move up to 25th in 2021 and then fall off the list ahead of the 2022 season.

This is largely due to his slow development, as he was taking some time to find his footing at the lower levels.

But during that 2022 campaign, he found his swing and hit .299/.360/.785 in Double-A Frisco, which helped him earn his Triple-A promotion and eventual MLB debut in 2023.

That earned him the 18th spot ahead of the 2023 season, he and was on track for substantial MLB playing time.

He only played 18 games at the MLB level in 2024, however, due to log jams in the infield. And when he was on the roster, his production was less than stellar.

He had a .216/.256/.527 slash line with three RBI, one run and 13 strikeouts to only two walks. His fielding, however, showed some promise, playing five different positions across 107.2 innings, recording 14 putouts, 24 assists and two errors.

He bounced back and forth between Triple-A and the MLB a few times, but ultimately he needed a bit more time to hone his talents in the minors.

Now, it seems he may be finally finding some of the potential he had yet to tap into.

During spring training, he has played in eight games, putting together a .385/.429/.967 slash line with three RBI, two runs and only two strikeouts in 13 at-bats.

He has been given multiple opportunities this spring, playing in 73% of the 11 games completed at this point, which indicates that Texas wants to see more of him before they make any decisions.

Odds are he will start off the season in Triple-A, but with injuries always in play and roster shuffles occurring regardless, this performance might give him the second chance he needs to prove his value at the MLB level.