Rangers Major Pipeline: Prospect Updates and Movement Toward the Majors

The Texas Rangers now have all four full-season affiliate playing games for the 2026 season.

While the Round Rock Express had their Triple-A opener the same weekend the Rangers had their opening day in Philadelphia. The other three teams opened this weekend. That included the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders, the High-A Hub City Spartanburgers, and the Class-A Hickory Crawdads.

Here are four prospect that had good weeks for their respective affiliates.

David Davalillo Dominates

David Davalillo is done after a sparkling season debut!

FINAL LINE ➡️ 5.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K 🔥

B6 | FRI 0, CC 0 pic.twitter.com/fZ6shi0PdY
— Frisco RoughRiders (@RidersBaseball) April 5, 2026

The Rangers Nolan Ryan minor league pitcher of the year in 2025 made his first start at Double-A Frisco this season on Saturday and he was brilliant. He went 5.1 innings, gave up four hits and no runs. He struck out seven and walked two. Those numbers fell in line with what he did in 12 games at Frisco last season. He went 2-3 with a 2.73 ERA, with 58 strikeouts and 17 walks in 56 innings.

He’s on the 40-man roster as Texas protected the 23-year-old Venezuelan from the Rule 5 Draft. This is a huge year for him from a progress standpoint. More starts like Saturday and he’ll be at Triple-A Round Rock sometime this year. He’s a fringy candidate for the 2027 rotation.

A.J. Russell’s Debut

Minor League Baseball, meet AJ Russell 🤝

The @Rangers' No. 3 prospect and '25 second-rounder racks up a trio of punchouts over two perfect frames in his pro debut for the Single-A @HickoryCrawdads.@TEXPlayerDev | @Vol_Baseball pic.twitter.com/zEFZHsiQVB
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 5, 2026

Russell, formerly of Tennessee, hasn’t pitched much the past couple of years thanks to Tommy John surgery in 2024. After he was drafted by the Rangers in 2025, they opted to limit him to bullpens and live batting practice at their Arizona complex, with the goal of starting him at a full-season affiliate in 2026.

He made his debut on Saturday with Class-A Hickory, where he threw two innings of no-hit baseball. He struck out three, walked none and threw 31 pitches. He has a mature approach that may allow him to move to High-A Hub City quickly.

Maxton Martin Rakes

Down the line and fair the whole way 😮‍🔥

Martin with his SECOND double of the night.

HCS 5 - 7 FRE | B7 pic.twitter.com/qwT3u4Ghli
— Hub City Spartanburgers (@Spartanburgers_) April 5, 2026

Martin was the Rangers’ 11th round pick in the 2023 MLB draft, and he opted to bypass college and start his pro career. The 20-year-old had a great start to his opening weekend at High-A Hub City, even though Sunday’s game was postponed due to rain. In two games he slashed .500/.556/.750 with two doubles.

Texas sees this as a big season for Martin, who could be at Double-A Frisco by midseason if he keeps hitting like this.

Cameron Cauley’s Brilliance

Here lies Cameron Cauley's glove 🪦

It didn't stand a chance against a 110.3 mph grounder, but the @RRExpress second baseman still made the play! pic.twitter.com/Bk1JdF9QKS
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) April 4, 2026

This was a great play by Cauley at second base to just stick with the play even after he got separated from his glove.

One of the biggest stars of spring training for the Rangers, Cauley has slashed just .207/.361/.345 with one home run and two RBI in eight games. With that slash, he’s not going to get called up to make his MLB debut anytime soon. He could be one of the first players called up if the Rangers need a middle infielder due to injury.