These 3 Rangers prospects created quite the buzz in '24

This story was excerpted from Kennedi Landry's Rangers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Rangers have developed and produced quality big league hitters over the past five years, with names like All-Star third baseman Josh Jung, 2023 postseason star Evan Carter and '24 American League Rookie of the Year contender Wyatt Langford.

Though several prospects were involved in trades over the past few seasons, Texas has dealt from a place of depth, and it still has a fairly deep, if unheralded, farm system to work with.

3 players who forced their way onto the radar

RHP Alejandro Rosario (Rangers’ No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline; No. 86 in MLB's Top 100)
The Rangers selected Rosario in the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft, hoping to improve upon the 7.11 ERA he worked to during his junior season at the University of Miami. He did all that and more. Rosario skyrocketed from unranked on Texas’ Top 30 list to No. 3 midway through the Minor League season.

Rosario was named the Rangers’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year after he posted a 2.24 ERA with 129 strikeouts and just 13 walks in 18 games (17 starts) between Single-A Down East and High-A Hickory. His 9.92 strikeout-to-walk ratio was the highest single-season mark by a Texas prospect since it was first tracked in 2005 (minimum 80 innings).

OF Alejandro Osuna (Rangers’ No. 16)
The younger brother of former All-Star closer Roberto Osuna, Alejandro was signed out of Mexico for $125,000 in October 2020. He took a huge jump in '24 and was named the Rangers’ Minor League Player of the Year after he slashed .292/.362/.507 with 18 home runs, 24 doubles and 61 RBIs in 102 games between High-A Hickory and Double-A Frisco.

Among Texas Minor Leaguers (minimum 300 plate appearances), Osuna finished first in slugging and OPS (.869) and tied for second in runs (77) and total bases (207). His home runs, RBIs and 119 hits were career highs.

SS Sebastian Walcott (Rangers’ No. 1; MLB No. 23)
Walcott was already a Top 100 prospect entering the 2024 season, and he has been highly regarded in the Rangers’ organization. Walcott only got better and better each month.

Back with High-A Hickory to start the season, Walcott struggled early, with a .195/.326/.315 slash line through the end of May. Then, the switch flipped. In 80 games from June 2-Sept. 20 -- including a late-season promotion to Double-A Frisco -- Walcott slashed .291/.348/.503.

2 breakout players to watch

Malcolm Moore (Rangers’ No. 5), Dylan Dreiling (Rangers’ No. 9)
The Rangers’ first- and second-round picks in the 2024 MLB Draft, Moore and Dreiling made their professional debuts with High-A Hickory following decorated college careers. Neither particularly set the world on fire with the Crawdads, but after a full offseason and Spring Training, both could be primed to break out onto the scene.

1 big prospect question for 2025

Has the organizational pitching development taken the next step?
The lack of pitching development has been a narrative surrounding the organization for years. But recent successes like Cody Bradford (2019 Draft; 3.54 ERA in '24), Jack Leiter ('21 Draft; debuted this season) and Kumar Rocker ('22 Draft; debuted this season) suggest the tides might be turning.

Texas also has a trio of Double-A pitching prospects in Rosario, Emiliano Teodo (its No. 6 prospect) and Winston Santos (No. 8) who are on an upward trajectory. Is this a sign that things might be changing in regard to the Rangers’ pitching development?

“We’re very encouraged,” said general manager Chris Young. “It's fun to see young starters come up and get some experience. Ultimately, it's about what these guys become in the next two to three years, and we want to have really homegrown pieces that are staples in our rotation. I wouldn't say that we're there yet in terms of Kumar and Jack.

“Cody Bradford certainly is, and we developed one last year in Cole Ragans [now with the Royals]. So, I think that there's some positive signs and trends in our pitching development. I'm very excited about where we are in the system as well with the arms we have, but until these guys are established mid-rotation starters, I'm not going to boast that we figured it out. But I think we're headed in the right direction here.”