Fast-rising Rangers prospect Sebastian Walcott, 17, earns promotion to High-A Hickory

One of the fastest-rising prospects in the Texas Rangers’ organization is leveling up.

The Rangers are expected to promote 17-year-old shortstop Sebastian Walcott to High-A Hickory on Sunday, according to the organization. Walcott, the No. 65 prospect on MLB.com’s top 100, was signed by the Rangers out of the Bahamas in January to a $3.2 million bonus and has played a total of 44 professional games.

Both MLB.com and Baseball America rank Walcott as the Rangers’ No. 3 prospect behind outfielder’s Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter.

The 6-foot-4 infielder debuted opened the year in the Dominican Summer League but earned a promotion to the Arizona Complex League after just nine games. Walcott slashed .273/.325/.524 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs in 35 games for the ACL Rangers team this summer. He’ll join Hickory for team workouts in Greensboro, N.C. on Saturday and will be activated for his High-A debut on Sunday.

“He’s a top end athlete with bat to ball skills, easy projectable power and elite arm strength,” Rangers assistant general manager Ross Fenstermaker said of Walcott in January. “He’s mature beyond his years with tools that play in games right now.”

Walcott will be just the fifth player age 17 or younger to play for a full-season minor league affiliate in 2023, joining Los Angeles’ Nelson Roda, San Diego’s Ethan Salas and Seattle’s Colt Emerson and Tai Peete. He’s the first Rangers minor leaguer to play full-season ball at age 17 since infielder Michael De Leon, who rose from Low-A to Double-A in 2014.

With a strong arm and an ability to hit for power, Walcott drew comparisons to fellow Bahamian Jazz Chisholm Jr., an All-Star outfielder with the Miami Marlins. He’ll join Langford in Hickory. Langford — the team’s first-round pick in 2023 and already a consensus top 10 prospect in all of baseball — has hit .346 with 4 home runs in 22 High-A games.

The Rangers have been aggressive of late in promoting their young talent. The organization promoted Langford to High-A after just three professional games in August, then promoted Carter to Triple-A Round Rock on his 21st birthday at the end of August. Carter, the No. 8 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, slashed .282/.411/.451 with 12 home runs, 22 stolen bases and 62 RBIs in his first full season of Double-A baseball despite being four years younger than the average Texas Leaguer.

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