Rangers Star Prospect's Early Exit Robs Him of Spot on Arizona Fall League List

The Texas Rangers only sent a few prospects to the fall league circuit, and the top ranked one unfortunately missed out on the top 30 list due to injury.

A hat and glove of a Texas Rangers player during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers have quite a bit of work to do this offseason to put themselves back in a position to make a postseason run, and figuring out which prospects to play over the course of the season will be one of the crucial components to this.

They currently have the No. 6 prospect in the entire MLB with Sebastian Walcott on his way up through the system, and he was given the opportunity to play this fall to try and get some extra reps.

Unfortunately, an injury hampered him from progressing much during the fall league, as he was only able to play one game. In that one game, he ended up looking quite impressive. But keeping him fully healthy for 2026 needs to be a priority, and instead of giving him more reps, they decided to shut him down for the rest of the Arizona Fall League.

It ended up coming down to just being arm fatigue, so there is not much concern about it being anything long-term. But with that said, pushing him through that fatigue could have caused an issue, so the choice to keep him off the field was likely the right one in hindsight. Unfortunately, it held him out of the MLB.com top 30 prospects from the AFL, put together by Jim Callis.

Which Prospects Were Left Off the Top 30 List Due to Injury?

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Callis noted Walcott's absence, along with two other Top 100 prospects that exited early — Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Josue De Paula and Cincinnati right-handed pitcher Rhett Lowder. None had serious injuries, but it kept them from play a full AFL schedule.

Walcott spent all season at Double-A Frisco as a 19-year-old and distinguished himself as one of the most promising bats in the game. He slashed .255/.355/.386 with a .741 OPS, including 13 home runs, 59 RBI, 19 doubles, two triples, 70 walks and 108 strikeouts. He also stole 32 bases, which was a career high. He played in 124 games after playing 121 games in 2024.

He became just the second teenager in the Texas League to finish a season with at least 10 home runs and 30 stolen bases, joining Roberto Alomar.

It is unfortunate that these players were unable to grow a bit more during the fall and have the opportunity to play. But ultimately, when it comes to maintaining success into the next season, health is the key to doing so. The Rangers will now look to start Walcott on a track to making his MLB debut once again when spring rolls around, as they could use his presence once he is ready.