A prospect doesn’t always need a Cactus League appearance to leave a mark.

As first detailed by Kennedi Landry of MLB.com, Winston Santos managed to impress new Rangers manager Skip Schumaker without ever pitching in an official spring game.

Santos, ranked as the Rangers’ No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline following the 2025 season, was struck by a line-drive comebacker off the bat of Kyle Higashioka during live batting practice on Feb. 17.

The ball hit his glove hand, yet Santos chose to finish the inning rather than walk off the mound. The next day, he was wearing a brace, and on Feb. 21, Schumaker announced the 23-year-old had sustained a fracture in his left hand.

What stood out most to Schumaker wasn’t the injury — it was how Santos handled it.

“Probably the highlight of my day was watching Santos with how he came back after that comebacker with Wyatt [Langford] and Corey [Seager] up next,” Schumaker said. “He could have very easily walked off the mound and said, ‘I’m good.’ Instead, he wanted to finish what he started. I’m telling you, a lot of guys, veteran guys, would have walked off the mound. He’s a tough kid. It’s all I heard about when I came here last year. This guy’s got some dog and some fight in him. The first live [batting practice] I watched in real life was just that. So yeah, it was the highlight.”

Facing hitters like Wyatt Langford and Corey Seager after taking that shot only amplified the impression.

On Monday, Santos was optioned to Double-A Frisco, where the priority will be getting fully healthy and building toward the Minor League season.

Because the fracture is in his glove hand, he has still been able to throw, playing catch and stretching out with someone else receiving the ball.

There is no firm timeline, but the expectation is he’ll return to the mound before camp breaks.

Schumaker indicated Santos could surface with either Frisco or Triple-A Round Rock early in the season.

Just two years ago, Santos was one of the organization’s fastest-rising arms. In 2024, he logged a 3.67 ERA across High-A Hickory and Frisco, leading the farm system with 11 wins and 138 strikeouts over 110 1/3 innings.

Injuries limited him to just 17 1/3 innings in 2025 due to a stress reaction in his back.

Still, Schumaker believes Santos factors into the club’s future plans.

“Santos [needs to] get healthy to be an option,” Schumaker said. “But again, the reality is that I saw a different side of him which I ended up growing to really love. He finished an outing after a broken hand against Wyatt Langford and Corey Seager. That kind of shows you who he is. A lot of guys are going to walk off. You saw the fight, the dog that he possesses inside. That’s the stuff that I can’t teach. Those are the guys that you want on the mound during a season. Those are the guys that you want to fight with. There’s lots of upside. Hopefully we see [him] at some point during the season.”

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