The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Standout Bahamian minor leaguer Sebastian Walcott continues to progress in minor league baseball. The Texas Rangers’ no 2 prospect got called up to Double-A baseball to join the Frisco Roughriders for the final week of the regular season.

The 18-year-old infielder spent a majority of the season playing at the High-A level for the Hickory Crawdads.

He was having a brilliant season with the Crawdads. The 6-foot-4 minor leaguer was batting .261 with 10 homers, 49 runs batted in (RBIs) and 60 runs scored in 116 games played. Additionally, he has recorded 26 stolen bases.

Walcott’s numbers put him in a group of just three former minor league prospects to put up at least 10 homers, 21 doubles and 15 stolen bases. He is just the third minor leaguer in the last twelve seasons to have this type of production in just one season with a full-season affiliate at the age of 18.

The only other minor leaguers to have those numbers are San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr and Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio.

The 2023 international draft class prospect has continued to prove himself in the minors. In fact, before the season began Walcott was ranked no. 73 on the MLB’s pipeline list and has recently climbed up to no. 37 on the list of the top 100 prospects.

In addition to that, the Bahamian infielder made an appearance in the MLB Futures Game. He started at shortstop and was just the second Bahamian to be named to the MLB Futures Games.

The Rangers’ top signee of the 2023 international signing period capped off his professional debut batting .246 with 7 home runs, 24RBIs and 32 runs scored between three teams last year. Walcott was called up to the Hickory Crawdads from Rookie-level baseball during the final weeks of the 2023 season.

Walcott and the Roughriders played against the Amarillo Sod Poodles in Amarillo, Texas yesterday. In less than a week, the Roughriders will face Midland in a best-of-three division series on September 17.