Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. OF Wyatt Langford | 22 | AAA | 2024
A Texas-sized gift at the fourth pick in a loaded draft class, Langford laid waste to the minor leagues one level at a time, stopping at the complex league for three games before moving along to High-A for 24 games, Double-A for 12 games, and Triple-A for five games. He dominated at every level and might force an opening day debut with a good showing in spring training. He’s listed at 6’1” 225 lbs and doesn’t have much (if any) physical projection remaining, but that’s mostly irrelevant for a guy who has plus power and speed generate elite outcomes as is.
2. OF Evan Carter | 21 | MLB | 2023
Carter ended the 2023 as a key piece and middle-order bat on a World Series winner. In 23 regular season games, he slashed .306/.423/.645 with five home runs and three stolen bases. His youth and incredible patience from the left side give him unique upside on offense and his easy athleticism gives him a high floor on defense. He enters 2024 as a nearly universal top ten prospect in baseball.
3. SS Sebastian Walcott | 18 | A+ | 2026
An extreme athlete at 6’4” 195 lbs with double-plus power and easy plus speed, Walcott has a path to becoming baseball’s top prospect by this time next year. He’s smooth enough on defense to project a future at shortstop and jumped Low-A to join the High-A team as it headed toward the playoffs. In 35 games on the complex, Walcott slashed .273/.325/.524 with seven home runs, nine steals and 51 strikeouts. Anyone pumping the brakes on him is especially concerned with this last piece because Walcott has some swing-and-miss in his game that could become an issue if the contact skills don’t make a leap as he ages up. .
4. 1B Abimelec Ortiz | 22 | A+ | 2025
Here’s what I wrote about Ortiz in Prospect News: 2023 Dynasty Crush Team or Grab An Ale Man:
“Paul Goldschmidt. Matt Olson. Pete Alonso. Most of the great fantasy first basemen are never ranked real high on public-facing prospect lists. They must mash to live. Ortiz has 33 homers in 109 games across two levels this year. The strikeout rate isn’t great (27 percent in 80 High-A games), but he’s young enough (21) to look past that for now because the power comes easily for Abimelec, who has a preternatural ability to identify pitches he can lift to the pull side.”
Not much to add here except that Ortiz is a bit like Alonso in that he’s more athletic in the batter’s box than he appears to be at first glance. Feels like a waterfall of fantasy hype is just around the corner here.
5. 2B Justin Foscue | 25 | AAA | 2024
The 14th overall pick in 2020, the 5’11” 205 lb Foscue has progressed steadily through the minors producing solid lines at every level. In 122 Triple-A games, he drew 85 walks and struck out just 70 times (12.4 percent). In most organizations, his slash line of .266/.394/.468 with 18 home runs and 14 steals would put him in line for an early big league look in 2024. In Texas, he may wind up waiting in the wings all season.
6. RHP Brock Porter | 20 | A | 2025
Porter offers a look at how cool baseball’s draft structure is. He was a top ten talent in the 2022 draft class who “fell” to the 109th pick and signed for a fourth-round record of $3.7 million. Does that sentence make sense? Probably not. At least not in the real world, but it’s just another clause in the collusive world of major league fuckery. Everyone in the league somehow knew that Porter wouldn’t sign for them because he wanted to go to school or sign for Texas. Anywho, the 6’4” 208 lb Porter pitched well in his first full season, recording a 2.47 ERA with 95 strikeouts in 69.1 innings pitched across 21 Low-A starts. He already wields two big-time weapons in his fastball and changeup and has plenty of time to refine his slider and curveball.
7. OF 1B Dustin Harris | 24 | AAA | 2024
A left-handed hitter at 6’3” 195 lbs, Harris has been bouncing around the diamond in search of a position for the past couple seasons. In 127 games split almost equally across two levels, he slashed .259/.378/.431 with 14 home runs and 41 stolen bases in 46 attempts. He was a little better than league average at each level. A nice outcome for our game would see Harris become a unique speed option with multi-position eligibility who plays just enough as a strong-side platoon. Or maybe he’ll get traded to a team with room to let him learn on the job.
8. OF Anthony Gutierrez | 19 | A | 2027
While his season-long line across 78 Low-A games wasn’t awe inspiring, the 6’3” 180 lb Gutierrez improved throughout the season. He hit .280 with a 112 wRC+ in 41 games after July 1, an impressive outcome for any 18-year-old against older arms. Logic suggests he’ll add some good weight this winter and produce more than the two home runs he hit this year when he gets to High-A next year. He stole 30 bases in those 78 games and could rocket up the prospect lists if he adds power without sacrificing speed.
9. SS Echedry Vargas | 19 | A | 2027
Vargas brings an enticing blend of power and speed to a loaded Texas system. Occurred to me while building this list how incredible it would have looked if Jack Leiter or Kumar Rocker were healthy and throwing well. The 5’11” 170 lb Vargas is a right-handed hitter who played all around the infield while slashing .315/.387/.569 with 11 home runs and 17 steals in 52 complex league games.
10. C Jesus Lopez | 18 | CPX | 2028
A left-handed hitter with plus power and the defensive chops to stick behind the plate, Lopez feels like a safe bet to keep climbing in the public-facing, real-baseball lists. He slashed .289/.396/.644 in 13 complex league games and will likely open the season in Low-A with a chance to move quickly if the bat can keep up with the glove.
Thanks for reading!
