Sebastian Walcott: Rangers 2024 Minor League Player Of The Year
For a prospect who turned 18 less than a month before the season started, the assignment facing shortstop Sebastian Walcott wasn’t easy.
After closing the 2023 season with four games at High-A Hickory, Walcott returned to the level to begin 2024. The assignment was all the more remarkable considering he had never played a game at Low-A and entered the year with just 187 professional at-bats.
Walcott drips with talent, and the Rangers figured they could always drop him down a level if he struggled.
While his numbers through mid May suggested a struggle, the Rangers liked what they saw in his key performance indicators and thought it was only a matter of time until they translated on the field.
They were right.
Walcott dazzled over the final four months of the season, ascending to Double-A Frisco and continuing to perform at an age when a domestic player might be getting prepared for the draft.
“This season’s been a whole learning experience for me,” said Walcott, who signed out of the Bahamas in 2023. “I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished this year, and I’m ready to continue this in 2025.”
Walcott hit .265/.344/.452 with 11 home runs and 27 stolen bases in 121 games this season. He joined Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Chourio as the only 18-year-olds to produce seasons with 10 homers, 20 doubles and 15 steals in the past 12 seasons for a full-season affiliate.
Walcott was hitting just .173 through May 11. He hit .289 through the close of the regular season.
Walcott said he also fell into a trap that has grabbed other young prospects before him.
“For the first month, I would say I was trying to do too much, looking for results and trying to overachieve and not doing what I know I’m capable of,” Walcott said.
“In June, I started to click. I started trying to play a little more loose and tried to play my game.”
