MLB announced the initial rosters for the 2026 Arizona Fall League last Tuesday, and the Texas Rangers will send eight players to the Surprise Saguaros, who share the roster with affiliates from the Guardians, Mets, Phillies and Royals.

The Saguaros open their season Oct. 4 at Surprise Stadium against the Salt River Rafters, with the full six-team league running into mid-November.

Here's the initial group representing the Rangers system:

C Julian Brock
RHP Alejandro Chiquillo
INF Casey Cook
RHP J'Briell Easley
RHP Jesus Gamez
RHP Jacob Johnson
OF Paxton Kling
RHP Mason McConnaughey

The Prospects

Julian Brock is the most experienced player on the list. The Rangers took him in the eighth round of the 2023 draft out of Louisiana-Lafayette. Split between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock in 2026, Brock hit .197/.312/.332 in 68 games with 7 home runs and 38 RBI. The 7 home runs are a career high for him.

Paxton Kling is the headliner among the position players. The Rangers drafted him in the seventh round of the 2025 draft out of Penn State, and he's been one of the more talked-about bats in the system since signing. Combined across levels in 2026, Kling hit .243 with a .744 OPS, 7 home runs, 34 RBI and 40 stolen bases. He spent the bulk of the year with Hub City, playing 84 games and hitting .247/.386/.368 with 7 home runs, 31 RBI, 55 walks and 38 stolen bases, before getting promoted to Double-A Frisco right before the Texas League South Division series began. In five regular-season games with Frisco, he hit .176/.333/.235 with 3 RBI, 2 walks and 2 stolen bases, then caught fire in three playoff games, hitting .417/.462/.750 with a homer and 3 RBI. He also played in Rangers Spring Breakout this past March.

Casey Cook, a 2024 third-rounder (103rd overall) out of North Carolina, is 23. He played 47 total games in 2026, six with the ACL Rangers and 41 with High-A Hub City, batting .181/.310/.349 with 6 home runs, 21 RBI and 20 walks.

Alejandro Chiquillo, 23, split 2026 between the ACL Rangers (4.2 innings) and Single-A Hickory (51.2 innings), going 1-3 with a 4.79 ERA and 56 strikeouts. He and Jacob Johnson, The Prospect Times' No. 9-ranked prospect in our updated 2026 Top 30, both appeared on the Rangers' minor league break camp rosters back in March, part of a right-handed pitching group the org has been developing throughout the system this year.

Jacob Johnson, a 2025 11th-round pick (325th overall), got his first taste of pro ball in 2026 and went 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA in 43.0 innings with 48 strikeouts. He started in the ACL, making 7 starts across 8 games and throwing 25.1 innings with a 2.84 ERA, 16 walks and 33 strikeouts, before six starts at Hickory, where he posted a 2.04 ERA in 17.2 innings with 9 walks and 15 strikeouts and held opposing batters to a .193 average.

J'Briell Easley, who turns 25 in October, signed with the Rangers as a free agent on a minor league contract on March 31, 2025. He spent most of 2026 with Hub City, posting a 5.06 ERA in 53.1 innings with 27 walks and 59 strikeouts, and also made an appearance at Double-A Frisco, throwing 4.2 innings with a 9.64 ERA, 3 walks and 2 strikeouts.

Jesus Gamez, 23, who signed with the Rangers as a free agent OF on a minor league contract on January 15, 2023 before the club converted him to pitcher, went 5-0 with a 3.74 ERA in 43.1 innings with Hub City in 2026, striking out 69 with a 1.66 WHIP.

Mason McConnaughey rounds out the pitching staff. The 22-year-old right-hander was a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft, signing for an under-slot $495,000. He returned from injury in late June and made his affiliate ball debut in mid-July, throwing 20.2 innings total across 8 games (7 starts) with a 3.48 ERA, 6 walks and 16 strikeouts. He opened with the ACL Rangers, posting a 1.35 ERA in 6.2 innings with 2 walks, 7 strikeouts and a 0.900 WHIP, before being promoted to Hickory, where he had a 4.50 ERA in 14.0 innings with 4 walks, 9 strikeouts and a 1.214 WHIP.

Coaching staff

Hub City pitching coach Mason Milkey will join the Saguaros' staff this fall as a pitching coach, giving the Rangers a familiar voice on hand for Chiquillo, Easley, Gamez, Johnson and McConnaughey.

This is the initial announcement, and AFL rosters typically see additions and subtractions before the Oct. 4 opener as teams finalize instructional league plans and health status. I'll track any Rangers moves as they come and update this piece if the club adds or removes names.

The Saguaros begin play Oct. 4 against Salt River, with a home slate at Surprise Stadium throughout the fall.