5 sleeper MLB Draft prospects Rangers fans need to know

Tomorrow is the big day, and while all eyes will be on who Chris Young deems worthy of the Rangers' first-round selection at No. 16, we'll have 19 more rounds to worry about. That's 19 more bites at the apple, and truthfully, that's where the money is made.

Years of attrition due to trades trying to recapture that 2023 magic have left the farm system pretty bare. Besides top prospects like Sebastian Walcott and Caden Scarborough, who will be representing the Rangers in the All-Star Futures Game, the system is thin on upside and depth. That's led to yet another tumble in the rankings, with Baseball America downgrading the farm system from No. 24 to No. 27 in their midseason update.

Hitting on the first-round pick will be key to changing opinions of Texas's pipeline, but more will be needed. With that in mind, we perused Baseball America's list of top 20 sleeper draft prospects and came up with five names who would be perfect diamond-in-the-rough targets for the Rangers in the middle and later rounds.

Five sleeper MLB Draft prospects the Rangers should target in the later rounds

OF Peyton Bonds - Rutgers University - No. 109 on BA's top 500

Yes, Peyton Bonds is from that Bonds family as the son of Bobby Bonds Jr. and the nephew of Barry Bonds, and, of course, the grandson of Bobby Bonds Sr. Coming from that kind of bloodline means something. So, too, does standing at six-foot-five, 230 pounds and carrying plus speed that led to a 91.5% stolen base success rate in college and the ability to play an above-average center field.

Bonds also hits the snot out of the baseball and put on a show at the MLB Draft combine, generating exit velocities up to 110.8 miles per hour. He slashed .352/.436/.535 this season, striking out just 12.7% of the time. He makes a lot of contact, but isn't the most selective hitter while also putting the ball on the ground too often. However, if the Rangers could refine his swing and he matures a little bit with his swing decisions, there could be superstar upside here.

RHP Carson Wiggins - University of Arkansas - No. 119

Speaking of familial links, Carson Wiggins is the younger brother of Chicago Cubs top prospect Jaxon Wiggins, and boy is there a lot ot like about his talent. Wiggins is a flamethrower, who, while working in relief for the Razorbacks, was sitting in the high 90s on the radar gun and topping out at 102 miles per hour. Unfortunately, he'd manage just 14 innings pitched before his season was ended with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery.

The recovery has held him out of action this year, and the experts at Baseball America note that he would've been a top-50 draft prospect if not for the injury. In addition to the blazing fastball, he has a wicked slider that generated a 74% miss rate. He might be a relief-only arm, and there's some injury risk, but the upside is tremendous.

RHP Coleton Brady - TXNL Academy, Ococee, Florida - No. 236

Coleton Brady is just 17 years and nine months old, but already stands at six-foot-five, 210 pounds, giving him the dream frame for a top-end hurler. The LSU commit has a four-pitch mix that includes a four-seamer that runs up to 94 miles per hour, a slider, a curveball, and a changeup. BA notes that he already has advanced command of his arsenal.

With that size and his youth, it's easy to see why he could have a very high ceiling, even if the floor is also really low. The question will be, can a team persuade him to sign on the dotted line and forego college? It's probably going to depend on where he's selected.

3B/2B Nu'u Contrades - Arizona State University - No. 250

Nu'u Contrades' development from 2025 to 2026 is the reason to be excited. He was a contact-oriented hitter who slashed .304/.410/.519 with six homers in 2025. However, he overhauled his swing to generate more power, but didn't lose the feel for contact that was his bread and butter, posting a .366/.434/.762 line while upping his homer total to 21 this year.

He mostly played third base in college, has some speed and base stealing prowess, and an aggressive approach at the plate. The increase in homers was backed up by significant improvements in exit velocity and fly ball rate. The fact that he successfully made such a big adjustment is what makes him exciting, and it's also why you feel comfortable believing that he can succeed as a later-round pick.

RHP/OF Ty Burnham - Rogers H.S. (Arkansas) - No. 281

Some mocks have projected the Rangers to draft high school two-way player Jared Grindlinger at No. 16 overall. There are some reasons to back that up, such as taking two-way player Josh Owens in the third round last year, and signing Seong-Jun Kim out of South Korea last May. But two-way players are risky bets, especially high school ones, and given the state of the farm system, it may not be a gamble that Young can afford to take.

However, if the executive really needs to scratch his two-way itch, Arkansas prep product Ty Burnham later in the draft could do the trick. Baseball America notes that his two-way upside is real, even if he's more advanced as a pitcher, clocking 98 on the radar gun at points this year. At six-foot-three, 200 pounds, the teenager is already an intimidating physical presence. He's committed to the University of Arkansas, so there's no guarantee that he'll sign, but at a certain point, it might make sense to roll the dice on him.

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