If you are anything like me, crawdad boils are some of the best times of the year. Pair crawdad season with some of the top prospects in the Rangers’ organization and you get the pure excitement that is the Hickory Crawdads. With a lineup led by future superstar Sebastian Walcott and a starting rotation anchored by the 2028 AL Cy Young winner Brock Porter, this team will be the most fun Rangers’ minor league team to watch in 2024 (and might even rival the big league squad at times).
But Wait, There’s More
In case the Rangers’ soon to be #1 (Walcott) and #2 (Porter) prospects (once Carter and Langford graduate from the farm system) weren’t enough to get you fully on board the ‘Dad Train, Anthony Gutierrez (#7), Cameron Cauley (#13), and Yeison Morrobel (#15) will all be featured in the Crawdad’s lineup at the start of the season. Behind Porter, the Hickory pitching staff doesn’t get much easier for opposing lineups as Aidan Curry (#19), Mitch Bratt (#20), and Joseph Montalvo (#27) will also play pivotal roles in the rotation.
2024 Season Outlook
The Hickory Crawdads’ look to improve on the 70-55 record posted by the 2023 Crawdads which was good enough for first place in the South division, but they fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Greenville Drive two games to zero. While Hickory is losing the SAL home run leader in Abimelec Ortiz, they are replacing him in the lineup with Sebastian Walcott who, like Ortiz, has a 60 power grade by MLB.com.
The pitching staff also receives some major boosts as top 30 prospects Porter, Curry, and Montalvo make the jump from Down East to Hickory. Pair that with a returning bullpen of Yohanse Morel and Seth Clark who each posted an ERA of 2.53 or lower in over 45 innings last season and the pitching staff looks extremely good. Yes Rangers fans, after years and years of waiting for pitching prospects, there are PLENTY on the way.
In order to win the league, the Crawdads must have valuable production from the “unheard of” prospects. Guys like Walcott, Porter, and Gutierrez may be big name prospects for the Rangers, but they are also unlikely to spend a full season in High-A if they are playing well. Guys like Ben Blackwell, Yosy Galan, and the crop of talent that is likely to be called up from Down East to replace the guys that move up to Frisco will be the deciding factor in the Crawdads winning the SAL Championship in 2024. Blackwell projects as a player who can hit .300+ while getting on base at a .350-400+ clip and Galan could easily be a 20/20 player (went 18/19 in 2023 between Down East and Hickory).
On the Horizon
The Crawdads kick off their season April 5th on the road against the Rome Emperors, which leaves enough time to get the 2023 edition of the “Who’s Your Daddy” T-Shirt on sale for $10 from the Crawdad’s team store to go along with the Crawdad’s hat currently sitting in your cart.
How to Follow the Crawdads in 2024
While you may not be able to attend Crawdad’s games this season, you can watch all of their games this season as they are now broadcast live through MLB.TV with a valid subscription. Military members and college students with a valid ID can get MLB.TV for a 35% discount.
