Rangers announce 11 Internal Non Roster Invites to Spring Training
Monday afternoon the Rangers announced 11 internal player non roster invitees to the Major League Spring Training camp this year.
The first two to top the list are MLB Pipeline’s No. 17 Ranked prospect SS Sebastian Walcott, and Rangers 2024 First Round pick C Malcolm Moore.
Walcott will be 19 by the time camp is winding down, and the expectations have always been high for the young infielder. Walcott finally played his first full year in the minor leagues that saw him hit .265 with an OPS of .796 and got called up to Double-A Frisco for the playoffs where he excelled, hitting .348 in the 5 games he played opening the door for him to be the starting Shortstop in Frisco for the 2025 season.
Moore was selected 30th overall this last year by the Rangers. The Stanford Alumni was highly respected for his bat to ball skills and sharp eye at the plate. In his last season at Stanford he drew 44 walks, and only struck out 35 times at the plate. However, his transition to the Minor leagues hasn’t gone as hoped just yet. Moore played in 25 games where he only hit .209 with a 29 Strikeout to 8 Walk ratio. I’m sure the hope is for him to get more coaching in and see some better pitching so the 21 year old can come out of the gate firing on all cylinders this year.
Another 2 names to look for in Spring are 2024 breakouts Kohl Drake and Abimelec Ortiz. Kohl really shot up out of nowhere, after an abysmal 6.36 ERA in 2023 he figured things out in 2024 as he shot up from Low-A all the way up to Double-A Frisco. In 23 games pitched he had a 2.29 ERA over 106 innings in the 3 levels he pitched at.
Ortiz saw his number drop in 2024 but was still a solid level player in Frisco. Opening the year in spring with the big league club will allow him to get his swing honed in early this year and hopefully see a return to his 2023 form where he bashed 33 long balls with an .990 OPS.
The Other names on the invitee list are Pitchers Dane Acker, Bobbly Ahlstrom and Skyler Hales. All 3 have had respectable numbers in the minors with Sub 4 ERA’s for all and I’m sure the Rangers will be looking to see if any of the 3 are ready to take the next step up on their way to the Big Leagues.
Finally, the other 3 names on this list are Blaine Crim, Trevor Hauver and Cody Freeman.
2025 will mark Crim’s 6th year in the organization. The 27 Year Old has been a constant 20 Homer guy in the minor leagues and spent the last 2 years tearing it up in Triple-A having at least an .840 OPS in either season. With the Trading Of Nathaniel Lowe, Crim could be a name that’s in the opening day roster in 2025 if his spring impresses the higher ups. Crim could be a platoon man for guys like Jake Burger or Josh Jung who’s coming off another wrist surgery.
Freeman the free swinging 3B will look to hopefully tone down his strikeout rate this year and Hauver the 26 year old OF and 2B will I’m sure be looked at for another potential platoon spot for the Major league ball club if they deem his swing to be Major League ready.
Spring training is right around the corner as pitchers and catchers report in just 15 days! It’s an exciting time as we turn the page towards Spring and be sure to keep an eye on these young prospects as they make a name for themselves in camp and throughout the 2025 season.
