Minor league baseball is set to run on time in 2027, no matter how the collective bargaining talks shake out in Major League Baseball.
That matters for the Rangers, because their system still has plenty of development left to do. Sebastian Walcott may be one of the game’s most anticipated prospects, but a lot of Texas’ most interesting talent sits lower in the chain right now. And in 2027, a few of those players could climb fast.
The biggest name in that group is AJ Russell, who the Rangers grabbed in the second round out of Tennessee in 2025. He split 2026 between Hickory and Hub City and the surface numbers were ordinary at best: 1-5, 4.01 ERA, 23 appearances and 21 starts.
But the underlying production tells a much better story. Russell piled up 96 strikeouts in 60.2 innings, walked 31 and gave up only six home runs.
Opponents hit .241 against him. For a young arm, those are the traits that jump off the page, and they’re the numbers clubs actually care about when they’re mapping out a pitcher’s future.
He could open 2027 in Double-A Frisco and, if everything clicks the way the Rangers expect, finish the year in Triple-A Round Rock.
Yolfran Castillo is another name with real upward mobility. The Rangers signed him out of Venezuela in 2024, and he just finished his first full minor league season with almost all of it at Hickory, plus one game at Hub City. He could begin 2027 at Hub City, but there’s enough growth here to imagine a two-level jump before the year is over.
Castillo hit .288/.390/.416 with eight home runs and 58 RBI. At 19, he’s starting to add strength, and the power is beginning to show.
He also swiped 55 bases, making him a major nuisance once he gets on. Add in 70 walks against 74 strikeouts, and it’s easy to see why his 2026 season looked like a foundation-setting year rather than a finished product.
Jacob Johnson fits the same general profile: a young arm with enough stuff to move quickly if the development continues. The Rangers took him in the 11th round in 2025 out of Pearl River Community College in Mississippi, and his first full pro season was strong.
He went 2-0 with a 2.51 ERA in 14 games, including 13 starts, striking out 48 and walking 25 in 43 innings. Opponents hit just .193 off him.
Johnson should be set to start 2027 at Hub City, and from there it comes down to how much the right arm carries him. He hasn’t had a great Arizona Fall League, but that doesn’t erase what he showed during the regular season.
There are a few other interesting names worth keeping in mind, even if a big leap seems less likely. Caden Scarborough’s year was interrupted by surgery before spring training for skin cancer, then later by a right elbow strain that ended his season a month early.
When he returned, he went 1-7 with a 5.16 ERA in 14 games. The Rangers may be careful with their No. 2 prospect.
Josh Owens and Seong-Jun Kim are also in the mix. Both are two-way prospects who signed out of high school, and Texas will be cautious with them in 2027.
They began in the Arizona Complex League and reached Hickory by the end of 2026. A start back at Hickory in 2027 with a finish at Hub City would not be a surprise, but a two-affiliate jump would be a stretch.
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