Josh Stephan

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #25 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 40/High
  
  Track Record: The Rangers cleaned up in the five-round 2020 draft, then put the icing on the cake in the undrafted free agent market. Stephan was one of a host of intriguing talents the Rangers added to their system post draft, and he experienced a bit of a breakthrough in 2023, when he reached Double-A for the first time. Stephan suffered a back injury at midseason and did not pitch after July 4. He was limited to just 66.1 innings all season.
  
  Scouting Report: Stephan was able to dominate the lower levels with the help of a nasty slider that he threw nearly half the time. He used it to hitters of both hands and in any count, and could throw it for both called strikes and chases. He throws both two- and four-seam fastballs, each of which average around 92 mph. He uses the two-seamer more frequently, and it pairs nicely with his slider to give him an east-west approach that allows him to induce plenty of grounders. He also has a changeup that needs further development and a cutter that he introduced this season to help combat a weakness against lefthanded hitters. His next steps involve learning to pitch more off his fastball and to be more unpredictable in general. He throws plenty of strikes and should have at least above-average command at peak.
  
  The Future: Stephan finished the year healthy in Arizona. He needs to vary his arsenal and get one of his offspeed pitches to take steps forward to reach his ceiling in the back of a rotation.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 40 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 40 | Cutter: 40 | Control: 55