Some Texas Rangers Prospects Who Impressed in 2024

Every season, a number of prospects manage to catch everyone by surprise with their standout performances, and 2024 was no different. This year, several Texas Rangers prospects turned heads with their unexpected rises. To get a broader perspective, I asked contributors to name the players who impressed them the most—aside from the more well-known names like Kumar Rocker and Sebastian Walcott.

Here are the prospects who made the biggest impression in 2024. This isn’t an exhaustive list, as many players stood out, but the challenge was to name just one from each contributor.

Blaine Crim

Opinion by Bennie Bullock

The Rangers’ prospect that I am most impressed with is Blaine Crim. He is always overlooked in the various top prospects lists, but he just keeps on producing. He has hit well at every level. It would have been easy for him to let up this year after being required to repeat a level that he was very successful at last year. Despite a slow start, he has been incredible over the last couple of months and has put up very good numbers again.

I suspect he will do well in the big leagues someday, just as he has at every other level. Unfortunately, it probably won’t happen with the Rangers.

Opinion by Derek Lien

Though you won’t find him on the MLB Top 30 Prospects for the Texas Rangers, you’ll certainly find him in the box scores for the Round Rock Express.

In his second full season with the Express, Crim did what he’s done quite often during his minor league career…hit. In 134 games this season, Crim batted a solid .277 overall, with a . SLG and .839 OPS. This was his fourth straight season of 20+ HR, and the second-most RBI he’s contributed in a season at 86.

Defensively, he’s been a machine over at 1B with 2024 seeing a fielding percentage of .991. Spending 122 games at 1B, Crim recorded 818 put outs on 883 total chances. The big question going into 2025 will be has he done enough to earn his chance at the MLB level, or will the combination of Nathaniel Lowe and Justin Foscue be too much for Crim to overcome.

Kohl Drake

Opinion by Kasey Jarvis

Kohl Drake is definitely the player that’s impressed me the most this year. Last year in the 14 games he pitched in ACL and Down East he was not great at all either him having a 6.36 ERA and really didn’t think much of him coming into the year. But this year he’s taken the ball and absolutely run with it! Dropping his ERA by 4 runs and his Whip by .67. He’s been amazing and fun to watch, I really hope he can continue this into next year and years beyond that!

Alejandro Rosario

Opinion by Matthew Harris

There were several prospects who in one way or another, surprised me this year. There’s the side of being surprised in a negative way like Brock Porter or Aidan Curry, but as far as a positive surprise, in my opinion there wasn’t anyone who quite came close to Alejandro Rosario this year.

I first became acquainted with Rosario when watching the 2023 Coral Gables Regional. Rosario pitched twice in that series. He threw 1 scoreless inning vs Maine, and threw 6 innings allowing 3 and striking out 6 against Louisiana. I came away from that regional thinking that while he had a couple promising pitches, he just felt very inconsistent. The Rangers ended up taking Rosario in the 5th round in 2023, believing there was enough potential in what his pitch mix could look like with a few changes. Rosario didn’t take the mound until 2024 for the Rangers, but when he did he showed up with an improved approach and a return to his splitter that he stopped using during his years at Miami.

Rosario’s 2 fastballs and advanced breaking and offspeed pitches worked in perfect sync to get Rosario off to a blistering start in Low A Down East to begin the year. More specifically he threw 69 strikeouts to 5 walks in 47 innings at Down East to a tune of a 2.11 ERA and a 1.64 FIP. Rosario was able to build this hot start into a promotion to High A Hickory. There, Rosario continued his dominance. Over his next 41.1 innings in Hickory, Rosario recorded 60 strikeouts to 8 walks. He finished the year with a 2.40 ERA and FIP 1.31 in Hickory. What stands out to me most about Rosario is his command of both fastballs. He’s able to consistently land his sinker at the bottom of the zone early in counts to steal strikes and set up a tunnel for his splitter, and he’s also able to nail his four-seam fastball at 100 mph up in the zone to blow it by hitters at the letters. Rosario’s slider and splitter are absolutely nothing to sneeze at, but it’s his fastball command that’s going to lead to his continued meteoric rise.

Rosario worked with the Rangers early in his career on his delivery. Specifically he now keeps his delivery closed for much longer which has led to much better success at hiding the ball from the hitters longer. This combined with his already low release angle has allowed him to constantly and consistently pound the strike zone and effectively get swing and miss on all 4 of his pitches. I’ve done several breakdowns of his starts and I come away each time more and more impressed with the perceived ease of which he works through a start. He’s absolutely become my favorite prospect in the organization. Over this year Rosario shot up from relative anonymity to now a consensus top 3 prospect in the Rangers organization. Make sure you keep a close eye on him next year, so you can sit back and enjoy the show.

Since I’m the one writing the article, I decided to break my own rule and highlight three players who stood out to me this season.

Opinion by Heath Criswell

Ryan Lobus

Ryan Lobus grabbed my attention this season, and I first wrote about him back in June. In 2024, he advanced through three levels—Low-A Down East, High-A Hickory, and Double-A Frisco. Lobus wrapped up the year with an impressive 8-5 record, a 2.96 ERA, and 134 strikeouts over 94.1 innings. Notably, he posted a 2.47 ERA as a reliever compared to a 3.31 ERA as a starter.

Cody Freeman

Cody Freeman had a breakout season in 2024, spending the entire year in Double-A Frisco. He made an impact both offensively and defensively, earning recognition as the Texas Rangers’ Minor League Defender of the Year and a spot on the Texas League Postseason All-Star team.

At the plate, Freeman posted career-best numbers, slashing .264/.321/.432 with a .752 OPS. He hit a personal-high 14 home runs, drove in 63 runs, and stole 15 bases. His batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS all marked career-highs, showing his well-rounded development.

Arturo Disla

Arturo Disla may not appear on many top prospect lists, but he’s been one of the most intriguing players to follow this season. Standing 6’2″ and weighing 240 pounds, the Wayland Baptist University product had an impressive 2024 campaign. Disla split his time between Low-A Down East and High-A Hickory, playing 87 games in the former and 34 in the latter.

Across both levels, he slashed .274/.349/.458 with an .808 OPS. Disla also showcased his power, belting 19 home runs and driving in 71 runs, proving himself to be a key contributor.