Black MiLB Players #18: SS/3B Sebastian Walcott, Texas Rangers
Sebastian Walcott is a 18-year-old shortstop in the Texas Rangers farm system from Nassau, Bahamas with one of the highest ceilings of any middle infield prospect in MiLB.
Introduction + Path to Professional Baseball
Sebastian Walcott is an 18-year-old shortstop/third baseman in the Texas Rangers organization from Nassau, Bahamas. He was signed by Texas during the 2023 signing period for more than $3 million dollars, impressing evaluators with his large frame and viability at shortstop. He turned heads with his performance in the Arizona Complex League by going .273/.325/.525 in 157 plate appearances across 35 games. 19 of the 39 total hits Walcott accrued went for extra bases, a testament to his ability to make hard contact frequently.
For the 2024 MiLB season, Walcott was aggressively pushed to High-A as one of the youngest full-time players at the level. He struggled early on with a .633 OPS in April and a .646 OPS in May. In June he took a noted leap forward to a .853 OPS and so far has kept an identical pace in July with a .830 OPS.
Player Profile
Sebastian Walcott is a shortstop and third baseman who stands at 6’4’’ and weighs 190 pounds. He bats and throws right-handed. He is built like a prototypical SEC wide receiver in their true freshman year, having a body that is developed but still has room for more muscle without sacrificing agility and mobility.
Hitting
Walcott stands in the right-handed batter’s box with an upright stance. He uses a slight leg kick as a timing mechanism to pair with a simple and quiet swing. It is a handsy cut with an ineffective bat path that shows Walcott’s relative lack of feel for hitting, as he is not able to do much damage to a pitch unless he is getting the bat head out in front on offerings in the middle of the zone and take them to his pull side. His inadequate barrel control is his biggest weakness and has led to a swing that is severely grooved. He struggles to keep his hands near his body to fight off secondary pitches on the inner half because of his weird bat path. He has issues properly timing pitches on the outer half that travel deep to take them the other way with his strength.
He has logged K %s in the high 20s to low 30s during his MiLB career so far. It will be tantamount that he figures out a way to manage the strikeouts and his ability to make contact as he matures as a player. His pitch recognition skills and approach have been above-average so far in his professional career, although it will have to be seen if his ability to get on base will hold up against Double-A pitching. After struggling early on during the 2024 season, he has consistently put up quality plate appearances for two consecutive months against competition five years older on average. There has been a disparity in Walcott’s performance based on pitcher handedness, owning a .692 OPS versus RHPs and a .869 OPS versus LHPs. Whether this trend continues as the Bahamian shortstop climbs through the minors will be important to calculate his range of outcomes as a hitter in MLB.
Despite only being 18 years and four months old, Walcott is one of the most powerful position players in MiLB. He has logged batted ball events above 110 miles per hour multiple times and has maxed out at 116 mph. He has a feel for elevating pitches when he does make contact, owning a 1.17 groundball-to-flyball ratio and 27 extra-base hits in 272 plate appearances during 2024. He knows how to generate effortless power with his hands and wrists despite not utilizing his core and lower body effectively. Walcott has the strength to log 250+ total bases multiple times against MLB pitching.
Fielding
Walcott has logged a majority of his defensive innings at shortstop with some games played at third base during the 2024 season, showing plenty of viability on the left side of the infield to go with some yellow flags.
At shortstop, he has a slightly above-average range although his hands and internal clock need improvement. His above-average speed, long strides, and long arms allow him to snag groundballs deep in the hole at shortstop. He is very good at charging in on groundballs but needs to improve at going to his left and right. He is very adept at starting and turning double plays. Walcott is very comfortable playing defense with traffic at second base, using his large frame to intimidate runners at first from sliding into second base emphatically. His transfer is surprisingly quick despite his long arms, inconsistent hands, and general lack of playing experience. His plus-plus arm allows him to make all of the necessary throws, although Walcott must shorten his crow hop and improve his decisiveness in the field. He also has the necessary soft touch for making flips and tosses when turning double plays.
Walcott’s above-average range and plus-plus throwing arm fit well at third base although his internal clock issues and general lack of experience stand out equally. It would not be a surprise if Walcott wound up becoming a full-time third baseman because he grows too big to play shortstop effectively.
Baserunning
While Walcott is currently a borderline plus runner, I think he will slow down to being an above-average or average runner during his 20s because of his large frame. Already 190 pounds, the Bahamian shortstop still has a ton of projection left in his physical profile. He is an above-average base stealer with a legitimate feel for timing and picking pitches to run on. His large frame does not deter his aggressiveness and his successful stolen base to caught stealing ratio is a sign that he is an adept base stealer. Seeing how much raw foot speed the 18-year-old retains as he gains muscle and gets older will determine a lot of other important factors in his player profile
Conclusion
Sebastian Walcott’s player profile is a myriad of red, yellow, and green flags that combine to create one of the lowest floors and highest ceilings in MiLB. This is a player who could never make it past Double-A or wind up being the greatest Bahamian position player in MLB history. The Bahamian shortstop is arguably the centerpiece of a Texas Rangers farm system that has taken leaps and bounds forward with its player development contingent during the 2020s. He might wind up being a great trade piece for a Texas Rangers club that is looking to find its way back to the postseason. He could also be the answer at third base or in the outfield, as the Rangers position player group still has question marks despite its collective success in recent seasons.