This prospect with a ‘unicorn fastball’ just dominated his High-A debut
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Sometimes all it takes to find a rhythm on the mound is a little change of routine. Or for AJ Russell, maybe even different scenery that comes with a new level.
The Rangers’ No. 3 prospect twirled three perfect frames and struck out four for High-A Hub City during its 4-2 win over Wilmington at Fifth Third Park on Saturday afternoon.
That the club’s second-round pick from the 2025 Draft was already bumped up to the South Atlantic League wasn’t exactly the plan. He pitched to a 5.00 ERA over five appearances (all starts) for Single-A Hickory to open the year, working in stints of 1-2 frames. But when a fire broke out early Saturday morning in the visiting clubhouse at L.P. Frans Stadium, both Saturday and Sunday’s contests were canceled. (No one was injured and the local fire department extinguished the flames before any significant damage was done.)
The drive from Hickory, N.C., to Spartanburg, S.C., is approximately 90 minutes, so onto I-85 South the right-hander went.
The outing came in a role that Russell has been familiar with throughout his career: as a reliever. After Russell dominated over 24 appearances as a freshman in 2023 (0.89 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 13.9 K/9) during his time at Tennessee, the Vols saw going forward what everyone else who watched him pitch did: They wanted to know if they could get more innings out of an arm that explosive.
But internal brace surgery in 2024 limited him to just 39 2/3 frames over the following two years. Still, the Rangers came calling at the 52nd overall selection last July and handed him an over-slot bonus of $2.6 million to get his pro career started.
His heater in particular is a weapon. Dubbed a "unicorn fastball" by evaluators, the pitch sits 93-96 mph and tops out at 98, but the combination of its release point on Russell’s 6-foot-6 frame, armside run and carry, makes it nearly impossible to do damage on.
Russell went to his fastball to record his first two punchouts for Hub City, before leaning on his primary secondary pitch -- the slider -- to get another strikeout. He notched 10 whiffs across his three frames, pumping 30 of his 42 pitches for strikes.
The Rangers haven’t been shy about the fact that they’re big believers in Russell’s arm talent. They’ve been in communication with him since his days at Franklin (Tenn.) HS and see a bright future. MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis even shortlisted him as a pitcher that could enjoy a Trey Yesavage-esque meteoric rise through the Minor Leagues.
“We're looking forward to putting him on some pretty big stages here in the future and helping him continue to build the next chapter of his career,” Rangers general manager Ross Fenstermaker said last summer.
His introduction to High-A might not have been meticulously planned out, but there’s no denying that it went perfectly.