'It's always going to be a show': Walcott, De Vries square off at Double-A
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What do you get when two of MLB’s top four prospects go toe-to-toe?
Offense. And lots of it.
On Thursday, in Double-A Midland’s 8-7 win over Frisco at Momentum Bank Ballpark, Leo De Vries and Sebastian Walcott, MLB’s No. 3 and No. 4 prospects, respectively, met in a 10-inning showdown -- and their bats did not disappoint.
Leading the visiting team, Walcott had the proverbial opening move of the matchup. In his first at-bat, facing off against left-hander Wei-En Lin (ATH No. 21), who was making his Texas League debut, the 19-year-old delivered his 13th homer of the year, a two-run laser that he laced over the left-field wall.
“It's been kind of a while since I got a hold of the ball like that and drove it out the park,” said the Rangers' No. 1 prospect, who hadn't gone deep since Aug. 20. “It feels good getting my swing back a little bit now, and I’m just trying to continue this throughout the rest of the season.”
While Walcott’s 13 homers this season don’t jump off the page, they do put him at the forefront of an exclusive group. At just 19 years old, the native of The Bahamas is one of just four teenagers to have left the yard at Double-A this season. Along with Walcott, the list includes Pirates No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin, Red Sox No. 1 prospect Franklin Arias and Angels No. 8 prospect Nelson Rada.
“I've always been playing against older guys for most of my career,” Walcott said. “All these guys got a little bit more experience than me, so just making adjustments day by day.”
While De Vries hasn't joined the Double-A home run club yet, the 18-year-old does share a similar path to Walcott from an age standpoint. After signing as an international free agent in 2024, “El Mutante” debuted at Single-A as a 17-year-old and competed in the Arizona Fall League that same season.
In the AFL, widely known as “baseball’s finishing school,” De Vries competed against the likes of Drake Baldwin, Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen, all players who have debuted in the bigs this season. De Vries moved to High-A to start 2025 and is now competing as the youngest player at Double-A after a late August promotion.
On Thursday, the switch-hitting phenom proved that age is just a number. After fanning in his first at-bat, De Vries put Midland on the board with an RBI double off 22-year-old right-hander David Davalillo in the third inning. In his following at-bat, against southpaw Thomas Ireland, De Vries upped the ante, sizzling a ground ball down the left-field line for an RBI triple.
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“I’m just trying to get my job done to help the team,” said De Vries through Midland manager Gregorio Petit.
The night marked De Vries’ second multihit performance since his promotion on Aug. 19. Despite it being the first game of the series that the Athletics' No. 1 prospect played in, Walcott noted the opposing shortstop’s polish at the dish.
“Just watching his at-bats, you can see the presence that he has in the box,” said Walcott of De Vries. “He's only 18, so he's only going to get better from here.”
Alternatively, while De Vries admitted that he typically doesn’t pay attention to top prospects that he plays against, he was quick to point out Walcott’s impact on the game.
“He is very talented and the abilities that he has to play this game, he's something special, he's going to be a great player,” De Vries said.
Midland and Frisco have three more games against each other to close out the week, and you can bet that Walcott and De Vries will be at the forefront of all of them.
“Every time we play against each other, you want to see what each of us is going to do,” Walcott said. “It's always going to be a show when both of us step on the field.”