Power ranking the Texas Rangers' potential rookie superstars for the 2024 season

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While much has been made of the Texas Rangers' big ticket free agent signings in previous years and the lack of them this offseason, Texas has also put together a hell of a young core from good ol' fashioned player development and smart draft picks. Yes, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Jordan Montgomery were big reasons why the team won the World Series last year, but one cannot discount the contributions of Josh Jung, Evan Carter, and Adolis Garcia, either.

Despite having a quiet (by their standards) offseason, that doesn't mean that change isn't coming for the 2024 Rangers, as they have another wave of absolute studly young players coming up. Assuming a few of them live up to expectations, those players could end up being better than any free agent they could have traded for anyways.

Texas Rangers rookie power rankings for 2024

This list is going to be for guys with rookie eligibility that we reasonably expect to see time on the big league roster in 2024. That parameter excludes Jack Leiter for now, as while he may be incredibly talented, he is also coming off some rough seasons in the minors and probably needs some more time to be ready for the show.

Some honorable mentions include Antoine Kelly and Dustin Harris, but they didn't quite make the cut. Here are our power rankings of the expected Texas Rangers rookies in 2024 in reverse order to help build the suspense.

Cole Winn

Winn has above-average secondary pitches including a high quality slider, but his fastball is just too hittable at the moment, despite the fact that he does throw reasonably hard. He has also had a bad spring (9.82 ERA in 7.1 innings of work), which has led to a healthy amount of skepticism. He is better than what he has shown down at camp this year, and he could see time in the big leagues, especially since he is on the Rangers' 40-man roster, but he gets the bottom spot in these rankings.

Marc Church

This ranking could end up being low, as Church has looked great this spring with a 1.13 ERA and nine strikeouts in his seven appearances. He is still a reliever, which limits his ceiling a bit, but that fastball/slider combo of his is very legit and he has the stuff to be a high leverage reliever down the road. The most recent projections of the Rangers' Opening Day bullpen don't have him in it, but Texas may be wise to include him.

Owen White

White has the potential to be a stalwart member of a big league rotation, thanks to a varied arsenal of pitches that all look like they could get big league hitters out at times. However, his first taste of the big leagues resulted in an 11.25 ERA in a very small sample of two appearances, and he has had a lousy spring as well. We're betting that he turns things around and rebounds in 2024 to get another shot in the majors, but that isn't a sure thing.

The Rangers may need White to find himself quickly, though. With so many injuries in the rotation (along with older guys in general) and questionable timelines for recovery, White may be forced into action sooner than the team may like. If he falters again, he could get passed on the depth chart in short order.

Justin Foscue

Now we are getting into the meat of the list, starting with Justin Foscue. Foscue's defensive home is up in the air, that may not matter, as he is a pure hitter. After being Texas' first-round pick in the shortened 2020 MLB Draft, Foscue jumped out of the gates in his pro debut and has done nothing but mash and get on base at a high clip since then.

The trick with Foscue is finding a place for him on the big league roster, given his defensive deficiencies. There could be some early season opportunities with Nathaniel Lowe banged up, although Jared Walsh is making his own case for playing time there. That leaves the designated hitter spot, which would suit Foscue well, but he may have to cede some playing time there to vets like Seager, who the Rangers may want to give breaks from the field from time to time (once healthy).

Evan Carter

Okay, look....yes, Evan Carter is Texas' top-ranked prospect by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, but he doesn't top the list here. Just stick around for an explanation for that. One thing that needs to be made clear, though, is that this isn't an indictment of Carter whatsoever. He has been raking down at spring training, and his overall skillset is so great that the Rangers called him up in September, leading to him instantly becoming a key cog in Texas' lineup all the way through the World Series.

What is going to be the most exciting thing about Carter is that Rangers fans are going to get to see a full season of him in the big leagues in 2024. In his first 23 regular season games in the majors, Carter slashed .306/.413/.645 with five homers and three stolen bases. Based on that, plus what we know from his minor league days, don't be surprised if Carter flirts with a 30/30 or better season in 2024.

Wyatt Langford

That brings us to the top name on the Rangers' rookie power rankings in Wyatt Langford. Clearing Carter is no low bar, and if Langford takes his foot off the gas at all, Carter could quickly earn the top spot and win AL Rookie of the Year. However, what Langford has done from the day the Rangers drafted him fourth overall is nothing short of extraordinary and earned him top honors here.

After climbing four(!) levels of the minor leagues in just 44 games during his draft year and posting an 1.157 OPS along the way, Langford put himself in the conversation for a big league call-up in near record time. Spring training started with him having a reasonable chance of making the Opening Day roster, but he was far from a lock, given his lack of experience. All he has done since then is demolish opposing pitchers with a .361/.442/.806 line with five homers in his first 13 games. The strikeouts are mildly concerning, but Langford's potential not only should have him firmly in the running for a roster spot, but potentially some end of year hardware in 2024 as well.

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