The 2024 Preseason Top 30 lists are built around the idea of certainty and future Role. Similar to industry projection systems such as Future Value (FV), Overall Future Potential (OFP) and Grade, Role is a way to describe to what degree a player will add value to his organization at peak.
Our scale is a bit more conservative than other grading systems. We take into account recent seasonal performance, proximity to impact, metric/data analysis and industry conversations to build a case for the most likely outcome for any given player.
It is important to note these Role labels are fluid and can change as a player moves up the developmental ladder. It is not uncommon for a player to change his role projection over the span of even one month. Players jump from a Role 35 to a Role 40 quite quickly.
Things like mechanical adjustments and physical maturation can alter a player’s projection seemingly overnight. Players change. Keep that in mind.
Below is our Role chart used to place future projection on players.
| ROLE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| 20 | No organizational value. Non-prospect. |
| 30 | Organizational value, filler. Likely peaks at Triple-A or below. |
| 35 | Potential up-and-down, Quad-A prospect. Has some tools. Development necessary to secure prolonged MLB role. |
| 40 | Back-up at MLB level. No. 5 starter on non-competitive team. Depth. |
| 45 | Potential starter on contender. Bench player for championship-level team. |
| 50 | Starter on a championship-level team. Lacks star ceiling. Steady. Potential No. 4 starting pitcher. |
| 55 | Potential all-star. Some impact. Above average big-league regular. Mid-rotation starter on a contender. |
| 60 | All-star level player. Impact. Middle-of-the-order bat. No. 2 starter on good team. |
| 70 | Perennial all-star. Will contend for seasonal awards. Potential MVP/Cy Young upside. No. 1 starting pitcher. Ace. |
| 80 | Hall of Fame upside. Generational. MVP/Cy Young Favorite some years. Organizational pillar who can carry an entire franchise at times. |
You will not find players with a sub-50 Role on our Top 100 Prospect List. You are also unlikely to find any sub-35 Role players on a Top 30 board. Generally, organizations will have at least 30 players with big-league projection.
All rankings and roles by Joe Doyle
Player notes by Jason A. Churchill
The Rangers lack depth, but they have more than made up for it the past year or two with impact prospects at the big-league level, including Josh Jung and Evan Carter last season.
Their first-round draft picks have been boom or bust the past five years, but they’ve done some damage in the second, third, and fourth rounds to make up for some of the Round 1 misses.
While those misses have been with college pitching, there are still some quality rotation candidates pushing their way toward the upper minors and the general development success is more than covering the bases.
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | ROLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyatt Langford | OF | 60 |
| 2 | Evan Carter | OF | 60 |
| 3 | Sebastian Walcott | SS/3B | 55 |
| 4 | Justin Foscue | 2B | 50 |
| 5 | Brock Porter | RHP | 50 |
| 6 | Dustin Harris | OF | 50 |
| 7 | Owen White | RHP | 45 |
| 8 | Cameron Cauley | 2B/SS | 45 |
| 9 | Kumar Rocker | RHP | 45 |
| 10 | Caden Scarborough | RHP | 45 |
Langford represents a potential third above-average-to-plus regualar in less than two years. It’s a plus hit tool with plus power that likely leads to 30-35 homers, and adequate or better athletic tools combining for one of the elite prospects in the game.
The right-handed batter witll hit with authority from his extreme pull side to right-center. Many scouts believe Langford was the best player in the 2023 Draft, and is the best hitting prospect in baseball entering 2024.
Carter debuted late last summer and is likly the club’s centerfielder for the next several years, flanked by Langford on one side and, in the short-term at least, Adolis Garcia on the other.
The 21-year-old raced through the minors led by a plus hit tool and he made an impact immediately upon arrival. More to come in 2024.
Porter is the club’s top arm, sitting 93-97 mph to set up a truly plus changeup and chance at an average or better slider.
He’s just 20, but there is some reliever risk due to firmly below-average control. The Rangers likely remain patient with him for a while with mid-rotation or better upside as the payoff.
Scarborough was the Rangers’ sixth-round pick last July, entering the season a 6-foot-5 ball of projection with a relatively high floor for a prep signing.
He’s up to 95 mph with three projectable secondaries, including a knee-buckling curveball.
| RANK | PLAYER | POS | ROLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Paulino Santana | OF | 40 |
| 12 | Jack Leiter | RHP | 40 |
| 13 | Aaron Zavala | OF | 40 |
| 14 | Anthony Gutierrez | OF | 40 |
| 15 | Gleider Figuereo | 3B | 35 |
| 16 | Aidan Curry | RHP | 35 |
| 17 | Emiliano Teodo | RHP | 35 |
| 18 | Izack Tiger | RHP | 35 |
| 19 | Abimelec Ortiz | 1B | 35 |
| 20 | Yeison Morrobel | OF | 35 |
| 21 | Skylar Hales | RHP | 35 |
| 22 | Cole Winn | RHP | 35 |
| 23 | Mitch Bratt | LHP | 35 |
| 24 | Chandler Pollard | SS | 35 |
| 25 | Zak Kent | RHP | 35 |
| 26 | Jose Corniell | RHP | 35 |
| 27 | Max Acosta | SS | 35 |
| 28 | Josh Stephan | RHP | 35 |
| 29 | Julian Brock | C | 35 |
| 30 | Danyer Cueva | SS | 35 |
Leiter, the No. 2 overall pick in 2021, still throws hard and flashes a plus slider, and his curveball and changeup remain potential major-league offerings, too, but he’s been unable to throw strikes consistently, and additionally his fastball command is poor.
Too many of his slider are non-competitive, and he’s been susceptible to the home run, too. Still, he’s a plus athlete and touches 98 mph with a heater also boasting ride and natural sink.
The near-consensus in the industry entering 2024 is Leiter is future power reliever, but in such a role he could help the Rangers sometime this coming season.
Zavala should be able to hit and field a corner outfield spot, but his attack plan is not conducive to more than fringey power. His swing is engineered for line drives and using the whole field, which is exactly what he did at Oregon and his first two years in pro ball.
He struggled a year ago, both with velocity and the chase, racking up uncharacteristic strikeout numbers. Zavala likelt returns to Double-A in 2024 looking to get back to what he’s always been: a hitter.
Bratt lacks physical projection as a 6-foot-1, 190-pound 20-year-old entering his third year in pro ball, but he throws strikes with four offerings, and occasioally gets the four-seamer to 95 mph.
Stephan carries some projection into the new season, but is already 91-95 mph with deception, sink, and armside ride, setting up an average slider and changeup. It’s a mid-rotation ceiling, but reaching it requires more from the breaking ball.
Brock is a catcher with arm strength, athleticism, and good bat speed. It’s a power-over-hit profile for now, but quick hands and a projectable swing path may offer more consistent contact as he develops. Whether he’s any kind of big-league factor remains to be seen, as there’s no true standout tool and he starts 2024 at age 22 without an inning of pro experience.
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