The Tribune

As one of their top minor league prospects, Bahamian shortstop Sebastian Walcott said he was thrilled to go to the Texas Rangers’ Major League spring training camp at the Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona.

While he fell short of making their final roster for the start of the MLB 2025 season, Walcott said he will be sure to take advantage of his return to the AA affiliate Frisco RoughRigers in Frisco, Texas.

It was the same team that Walcott, who celebrated his 19th birthday on March 4, ended playing with at the end of his rookie season last year. “I’m pretty excited to head back there and get the season started,” said Walcott, who reports for duty on April 4. 

“My body is feeling good, so hopefully I can have a great season and make an impact.”

In January 2023, Walcott signed a $3.2 million contract with the Rangers. He is now the No.17 overall prospect in baseball, per Pipeline and is projected to be a top-five prospect in baseball this time next year.

In spring training this year, the six-foot, four-inch Walcott went 4-for-8 with three doubles and a home run. He would have liked to be the next Bahamian to crack the Major League, or move up to AAA, but he admitted that he’s quite comfortable at AA.

“No matter where I start out, I will be excited because I still have a chance to play,” he said. “I’m ready to play with my team-mates, especially coming off spring training.

“I had a good camp. I made some improvements, which was my goal. This year, I wanted to improve defensively to get ready for the season and offensively I wanted to make some things to get ready for opening day and so I think I accomplished both goals, so I’m ready for the season.”

At Frisco, Texas, Walcott said he couldn’t ask for a better environment to go to and develop his game during the season.

“It’s an awesome place to play baseball, good crowd to get you into the game and so the goal is for me to put on a show every night I go there to play,” Walcott stated.

As long as he remains consistent, Walcott said he should be able to impress the Rangers’ scouts. 

Last year, in 456 at-bats, Walcott turned in a .265 batting average with 11 homers, 56 runs batted in (RBI) and stole 27 bases. 

“I just want to play my game. If I do that, I know I can have a pretty good season like last year,” he said. “Late last year, my game improved so if I can play my game and remain consistent, everything else should fall into place.”

As he looks forward to this season, Walcott said the Rangers have put him in a good spot to excel.

“I think I’ve put myself in a good position as well, forcing their hands in training,” he said. “They’ve seen the results in spring training and they trust me a lot to help this team and hopefully to help the team in the big league in the future.”

His father, Jeff Walcott Jr, a former men’s national basketball team player, said the spring training went very well for his son and could only propel him to the majors. “I think everyone at the top level had an opportunity to see him perform at that level, which was good and encouraging,” Walcott Jr said. “So based on what they expected, he exceeded their expectations. “He now just has to go to AA in the minors and play and continue the trend to put himself in a better position to stay ready. Major Leagues tend to pull players anytime from AA to the majors depending on the needs of the team.”

Having had a chance to monitor his progress during the off-season, Walcott Jr is convinced that his son has put himself in a position to take the next step up the ladder.

“He’s done everything that they have asked him to do,” Walcott Jr said. “All he has to do is stay healthy and be ready for whenever he gets the call to step up.”

At the beginning of spring training, Walcott said he got a chance to play against BJ Murray of the Chicago Cubs. He said he missed the game against Kristian Robinson when they played the Arizona Diamondbacks.

As the major league season gets underway this week, Walcott said he’s eager to watch the Rangers and even fellow Bahamian Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr, the starting second baseman for the New York Yankees. “Hopefully he has a good season. Wishing the best for him and wishing the best for all of the Bahamians playing in the minor league,” Walcott stated. 

“You want as much Bahamians up there as possible, so the more the merrier. So I’m wishing everybody has a great season.”

Hopefully, Walcott said he’s looking forward to having the type of season in the minor leagues that will propel him to the big leagues where only eight Bahamians have had the opportunity to play in the past.

The players who played in the past were infielder Andre Rodgers, outfielder Tony Curry, outfielder Ed Armbrister, pitcher Wenty Ford, outfielder Wil Culmer, outfielder Antoan Richardson and shortstop Lucius Fox.

Chisholm Jr, 27, is the only active player in MLB, but the 41-year-old Richardson is a first base coach with the New York Mets. Fox, 27, played last year with the Chicago White Sox and is working on getting back in the league.

All of the other players are deceased.