This Texas Rangers Prospect Worth Watching in 2024

The Texas Rangers have already called up a few prospects, but this prospect is under-the-radar and could end up earning a job at some point in 2024.

The Texas Rangers have had good luck with prospect so far in 2024.

Outfielders Evan Carter — who made his MLB debut last September with the Rangers — and Wyatt Langford made the team coming out of spring training and are every day players. Both were first-round draft picks.

Injuries have allowed another first-round pick, infielder Davis Wendzel, to make his MLB debut this month. Pitcher Jack Leiter, the Rangers’ first-round pick in 2021, made his big-league debut on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers.

If you think the Rangers are out of talent after those four players, you have another thing coming. Texas has one of the best farm systems in baseball and, recently, MLB.com selected a prospect from each team that could get a call-up this season.

The Rangers selection wasn’t a first-round pick, but it was one of their Top 30 prospects — pitcher Antoine Kelly.

Texas acquired Kelly, the organization’s No. 22 prospect, at the 2022 trade deadline for veteran pitcher Matt Bush. At the time, it wasn’t clear if Kelly would become a starter or a reliever for the Rangers.

Now, in early 2024, it’s clear that the left-hander has the stuff to be a reliever in the Majors, perhaps even a closer.

His fastball can top out at 99 mph and he can drop all the way down to a slider that runs in the mid-80s and perplexes hitters.

He’s worked his way up to Triple-A Round Rock, where he keeps delivering strikeouts at a high rate. He fanned five of the first 12 batters he faced this season.

Kelly is close to Major League ready, and if the Rangers end up with one more bullpen injury, he could be the next call-up.