New High-Profile Rangers Prospect Eager To Return To Mound

The success of the Texas Rangers in 2023 was largely based on high-profile free agency additions.

Ready to compete for championships, the signings of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom and others were the first step in getting this franchise on that track.

That vision worked, with the faces of the franchise powering the Rangers to their first World Series title. But it might not have happened without the incredible run by rookie Evan Carter.

Called up on Sept. 8 of that year, he took the baseball world by storm when he slashed .306/.413/.645 with five home runs, 10 extra-base hits and 12 RBI across his first 23 regular season games before he kept that going in the playoffs with a .300/.417/.500 slash line, a homer and six RBI in 17 games.

His performance was a reminder that homegrown talent is needed even on high payroll rosters.

At some point, the current championship core is going to age out. And Texas will need their next wave of players to be ready to take over when that time comes.

Someone who they have high hopes for is 2025 second-round pick AJ Russell.

Taken 52nd overall out of Tennessee, no one quite knows what to expect out of the right-hander since he underwent an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow that limited him for the rest of his time in college.

Russell has not thrown a pitch for a Rangers affiliate since being drafted, but with him getting assigned to the Arizona Complex League on Aug. 4, that could soon change.

And that's something he's looking forward to happening.

AJ Russell is Ready to Debut

"I'm excited to take on whatever the next steps are and just continuing to gain momentum throughout the next couple of months, just to get ready for whatever's next," he said, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.

It's been a long road for the first-round talent.

After dominating as a reliever in 2023 with a ridiculous 0.89 ERA in 24 appearances (one start), he has only pitched in 18 total games since. However, it sounds like Russell is getting to the point where he can become that elite arm he was during his freshman season.

"The mental side of after an injury is always the toughest part. Gaining confidence back in the arm and on the mound, is probably the hardest part of it. Towards the end of year, I felt really good, and I'm really feeling good about the next steps," he stated.

Russell will be an interesting pitcher to keep an eye on.

Since he was a college player, he has the opportunity to rapidly move through their farm system if he performs well, potentially putting himself in a position to be a key part of the rotation alongside Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker.

He also could need more time coming back from that surgery, too.

Either way, seeing him pitching on the mound in a competitive game will determine that; which is something that could occur this year.