Inside The Rangers

Texas Rangers Have One of the Best Non-Roki Sasaki International Prospects

The Texas Rangers missed out on Roki Sasaki, but still have one of the best international prospects in baseball.
Dylan Sanders|
Jul 26, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Texas Rangers fielder Leody Taveras (3) during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Jul 26, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Texas Rangers fielder Leody Taveras (3) during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

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Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers officially lost out on the race for Roki Sasaki on Monday, but they still have one of the best international prospect in baseball.

With Sasaki on everyone's minds right now, MLB prospect analysts took the opportunity to shed some light on other international prospects making their rise.

For the Rangers, the obvious choice was with infielder Sebastian Walcott.

Not only is Walcott the top Texas prospect, but he is one of the best in all of baseball. MLB's pipeline rankings have him listed at No. 23, which is the third-highest of any international signing.

The only players listed above him is San Diego Padres catcher Ethan Salas at No. 19 and Baltimore Orioles slugger Samuel Basallo at No. 13. All three are great players viewed in around the same range.

Walcott was a part of the 2023 international class and the Rangers signed him for a $3.2 million bonus.

He made his High-A debut at just 17 years old. Though he did struggle in his first few games there, his first professional season was a huge success.

Then, 2024 saw his first full debut and caused people to get even more excited.

The 18-year-old posted a .265/.344/.452 slash line with 11 home runs and 27 stolen bases. He rose up to Double-A by the end of the year and got off to a hot start there.

He has a special potential power/speed combo and has a strong arm that will help him develop into a plus-defender on the left side of the infield.

Having Walcott develop would break a recent trend. While Texas has had success with international signings in the past, with players like Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez, they only have one current such player on the roster: Leody Taveras.

Taveras has been in the MLB on-and-off for about five years and has a career slash line of .240/.293/.371. While he hasn't broken out to be a star, he has had flashes and is a solid bench bat and pinch runner.

While he did start most of last season, he moved to the bench by the end and will likely start next year that way as well.

Jurickson Profar was another successful find from overseas, but didn't really break out until his last season with the Rangers in 2018. Just this past season, Profar made his first All-Star team as a member of the Padres.

Texas hasn't necessarily been known as a farm for international talent, but Walcott could make people start changing their minds.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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