Texas Rangers position players don’t report to Surprise, Ariz., until Sunday, but they’ve already suffered a tough blow.

Early on Thursday morning, Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young revealed some news that no one wanted to hear.

Rangers' top shortstop prospect Sebastian Walcott will need elbow surgery, likely causing him to miss the entire 2026 season.

Walcott could get some at-bats later in the year, but those likely would not come until playing in Fall or Winter League action.

Last season, Walcott had his time in the Arizona Fall League cut short due to these same elbow injuries, which ended up being larger than the Rangers expected.

The news comes as a significant blow for Walcott, who was expected to play at Triple-A Round Rock for the first time in his career.

Earlier in the offseason, Young said that Walcott potentially could have seen time at the big-league level this season if he had played well in the minors.

However, that timeline is now obviously pushed back as the Rangers will be without the biggest piece of their farm system.

Not only is Walcott the best player in the Rangers system, but he is one of the best in all of baseball.

MLB had Walcott ranked as the seventh-best prospect in baseball in their 2026 preseason rankings.

ESPN featured Walcott as their No. 5 prospect in their list of 2026 preseason Top 100 prospects to watch out for.

Last season, Walcott spent the year at Double-A Frisco as he was one of the youngest players at the level.

Walcott hit .255 with an on-base percentage of .355, a slugging percentage of .386, with 13 home runs, 59 RBI, and 32 steals in 124 games.

Standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 190 pounds, Walcott has a rare combination of power and speed and can impact the game in multiple facets.

The silver lining in the news is that Walcott is just 19 years old, and the Rangers will be getting this surgery out of the way early in his career.

Presumably, Walcott will open the 2027 season in a similar situation that he would have been in this year, as he will have next offseason to complete the back half of his rehab process.

Certainly, there are still plenty of years ahead of Walcott in his career, and he will have more than enough time to make a lasting impact on the Rangers' big-league club.

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