Which Rangers Pitching Prospect is Shining in Arizona Fall League?

Texas Rangers prospects are a couple weeks away from wrapping up play in the Arizona Fall League. It's hard to believe there are more games behind them than ahead.

Texas sent several players to play for Surprise, and while much of the focus has been on their top prospect, shortstop Sebastian Walcott, several pitchers made the trip.

Below we look at the three Rangers pitchers that have qualifying stats for Surprise. One has clearly stood out. As for the other two, we explain what they're struggling with.

The Standout: Alejandro Chiquillo

One of the non-ranked pitching prospects the Rangers sent to Arizona, Alejandro Chiquillo is a right-hander who has a 3.86 ERA in 9.1 innings and three games. He's given up just six hits, four earned runs and four walks against 10 strikeouts. Notably, he has a 1.07 WHIP and batters are hitting just .176 against him. The only deficiency is that he's given two home runs among those six hits.

This is significant improvement for the 23-year-old from Caracas, Venezuela. In 2026 he ended his third minor league season when with the uh Class-A Hickory Crawdads and he went 1-3 with a 4.79 ERA in 17 games, 13 of which were starts. He also had a save.

But other numbers are holding steady. Batters his .217 against him and he struck out 56 hitters across 56.1 innings while only allowing 26 walks. With the opponent batting average and the strikeout-to-walk ratio holding steady in the AFL, he is pitching the best of any of the Rangers prospects in Arizona.

Holding Steady: Mason McConnaughey

Mason McConnaughey is a Top 30 prospect who was selected in the fourth round of the 2025 MLB draft out of Nebraska. He didn't pitch last season because he was recovering from Tommy John surgery and in his first pro season with the Hickory Crawdads, he went 1-1 with a 3.48 ERA in eight games, including seven starts. It's been a little rougher in the AFL.

In three AFL games he has a 6.14 ERA with eight hits allowed, five earned runs and two home runs in 7.1 innings. Batters are hitting .276 against him. There is an encouraging bit of news. He has struck out 13 and walked four, which is a better strikeout-to-walk ratio than he posted in the regular season. He struck out 16 and walked six in 20.2 innings. His stuff has remained consistent, though he’s giving up more contact.

Time To Worry? Jacob Johnson

Jacob Johnson was the highest-ranked Rangers pitching prospect sent to the AFL and even though he has a 1-1 record, he has a 7.11 ERA. He has three starts, but he's only pitched 6.1 innings as he's given up four hits and five earned runs. The issue has been his strikeout-to-walk ratio. Even though batters are only hitting .182 against him, he's allowed seven walks against four strikeouts. Command has been a clear issue for him.

The strikeout-to-walk ratio is a stunning reversal from his first pro season with the Rangers as he reached Hickory and struck out 48 hitters and walked to 25 in 43 innings. The Rangers are likely looking at this as an aberration, but it's important to watch Johnson's final appearances to see if he can balance that ratio out before the season ends.