Texas Rangers Top Prospects: #20 A.J. Alexy

20-year-old A.J. Alexy comes in at #20 on our prospect rankings. The right-handed pitcher spent 2018 at the Texas Rangers’ Class A Hickory.

Continuing our countdown of the Texas Rangers top 25 prospects, we reach A.J. Alexy at #20. Alexy joined the Rangers’ organization in 2017. He was part of the return package from the Dodgers for Yu Darvish. Though Willie Calhoun was the headliner in that return package, Alexy may end up being the better payoff for Texas.

He is 20 years old and stands at 6’4”, 217 LB. A right-handed pitcher of that build is of course going hurl the baseball at a good velocity. Alexy’s fastball sits in the low-90s, but his curveball is said to be his best pitch. Those are his two plus pitches. He also has a changeup that he is working to advance.

Alexy spent the 2018 season at Class A Hickory. He started in 20 of his 22 appearances and totaled 108 innings on the year. He posted 3.58 ERA, struck out 138 batters, showed good command with a 1.31 WHIP, and he also held opposing hitters to a .229 batting average. The fact that he averaged well over a strikeout per inning speaks to the dominance of his fastball/curveball combination.

The Texas Rangers will be patient with A.J. Alexy. MLB.com projects 2020 as his estimated time of arrival to the major leagues. Maybe he’ll be part of September call-ups in ’20; however, a debut in 2021 seems more likely.

His ability and command will need to carry over to the next level; he should begin the 2018 season at Double-A Frisco. The development of his third pitch, the changeup, will be the key. It doesn’t have to be incredible, but it does need to reach major league quality.

Alexy is part of an ambush of promising starting pitching prospects floating throughout the Rangers’ farm system. His #20 ranking goes to show how deep the farm is. Keep an eye on Alexy’s progression this season. He has the looks of a solid #3 or #4 starter at the big league level.