Road to The Show™: Rangers’ Walcott

Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken toward achieving his Major League dream. Here's a look at top Rangers prospect Sebastian Walcott. For more stories about players on The Road to The Show, click here.

Sebastian Walcott put his name among some elite company during a strong series with High-A Hickory last weekend.

The top Rangers prospect joined Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Chourio as the only Minor Leaguers in the past 12 seasons to record 10 homers, 20 doubles and 15 stolen bases in a full-season league as an 18-year-old.

Walcott enters the week batting .250/.340/.430 with 44 walks in 90 games for the Crawdads. He’s gotten better as the year has progressed, producing a .286 average and .853 OPS in June and a .320 average with a .926 OPS in July.

Last month, Walcott participated in the Futures Game and inaugural Futures Skills Showcase during All-Star Weekend at Globe Life Field, the ballpark he may one day call home in Arlington, Texas.

MLB Pipeline’s No. 70 overall prospect started at short for the American League behind fellow Rangers prospect Emiliano Teodo and went hitless in two at-bats, and finished as the runner-up to Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony in the skills competition.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound slugger has been able to produce impressive exit velocities since his amateur days and should be a consistent power threat as he continues to grow into his large frame.

Defensively, he’s mostly stayed at his natural position at shortstop this season while also getting his first experience at third base. He has premium arm strength and is athletic enough to have a future at shortstop and follow in a line of taller players like Oneil Cruz and Elly De La Cruz at the premium position. But that could change as he matures and gets stronger.

“The fun thing about Sebastian is the natural gifts in terms of the arm strength -- it's top of the scale,” Rangers assistant general manager for player development Ross Fenstermaker told MLB.com in June. “But to also watch him gain better body control and utilize his footwork better. There's actually a realistic shot that he could grow into this position. I think we’re going to continue to go down this path and see if we can carry it forward.”

Walcott was born in the Bahamian capital of Nassau and, at 11 years old, was invited to train with the International Elite Sports Academy -- the same program that helped launch the careers of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Lucius Fox, the two most recent Bahamian natives to debut in the Majors.

Walcott caught the eye of scouts with his size and athleticism and had plenty of interest from big league clubs when he was eligible to sign last January. He ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 8 international prospect in the 2023 class.

The Rangers were the most committed of his suitors, using nearly 80 percent of their international bonus pool to sign Walcott to a $3.2 million bonus. The deal was the second-largest ever for an amateur from the Bahamas, falling short of the reported $6 million pact Fox signed with the Giants in 2015.

Walcott first reported to the club’s Rookie-level affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. He lasted just nine games, batting .161 with a .704 OPS and four extra-base hits before being brought stateside to the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.

Over 35 games in the ACL, Walcott produced a .273/.325/.524 line with seven homers, nine doubles, three triples, 19 RBIs, 26 runs and nine stolen bases. During his ACL tenure, Walcott ranked third in the circuit in homers and extra-base hits. Despite his success at the level, he had some strikeout issues, going down on strikes in more than 32 percent of his plate appearances.

The Rangers gave Walcott an opportunity to bypass Single-A and finish his season with Hickory. In four games, he went 2-for-13 at the plate with a double and two RBIs.

This past spring, Walcott made his Cactus League debut, drawing four walks and not recording a hit in eight plate appearances. He did participate in the club’s Spring Breakout game, collecting a hit, run and stolen base from the leadoff spot and playing all seven innings at shortstop.

It’s reasonable to expect Walcott to finish the season with the Crawdads, but the Rangers have been aggressive with his development so far. On top of his production at the level, Walcott has also reduced his strikeout rate since last year.