This Number Should Reassure Rangers Sebastian Walcott is on Right Path

Sebastian Walcott continues to give the Texas Rangers plenty of food for thought in terms of when his future should begin at the Major League level.

The latest is that Walcott was named one of the Arizona Fall League's top performers for Week 2 by MLB Pipeline. This comes after a week in which Walcott hit his first home run in AFL play which happened to be a grand slam.

He only had three hits for the week, but he also had a double, drove in six runs, took two walks and stole four bases. He did strike out five times, but one can't have everything.

He's only played six AFL games and is likely to continue to play only two or three games per week. But there's one number MLB Pipeline suggests is another encouraging sign that Walcott continues to make consistent progress from the internal brace surgery that erased the first half of his 2026 season.

Sebastian Walcott’s Big Number

That number is a 113.3 mph maximum exit velocity at the plate. For context, the top maximum exit velocity for any hitter in the Majors in 2026 was 119 mph by Pittsburgh outfielder O’Neil Cruz. Among qualified hitters, Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood had the best EV50 at 106.5 mph. That’s the average of the hardest 50% of his batted balls.

In other words, Walcott is clocking baseball. He also has a 70% hard hit rate in the AFL. Per Statcast, Wood had the best hard-hit rate in baseball in 2026 at 58.9%.

Walcott is slashing .292/.345/.500. But the underlying numbers show that the changes the Rangers saw in him when he returned from surgery — the added muscle and power at the plate — remain consistent as he gets additional at-bats in Arizona.

He didn’t get started until July because he injured the UCL in his right elbow during Major League spring training. He didn’t need a full reconstruction, and the internal brace surgery allowed him to return to hitting in games by the All-Star break. He was cleared to begin playing shortstop in mid-September and is playing some shortstop and designated hitter in the AFL.

It’s part of the reason the Rangers are only playing Walcott a few times per week. He continues to get additional work at their team facility in Surprise, Ariz. But with each game he makes decision making for the Rangers harder in 2027 — which is a good thing.

He slashed .325/.401/.590 with 10 home runs and 21 RBI in 41 games with the ACL Rangers, Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock. He still needs more at-bats at Round Rock in 2027, but he’s sure to get those whether there is a work stoppage in the Majors or not. A reasonable timeline to join the Rangers would be sometime in the second half of 2027 — especially if he keeps hitting like this.