Beneath is an evaluation of the prospects within the farm system of the Tampa Bay Rays. Scouting stories had been compiled with info offered by trade sources in addition to our personal observations. That is the fourth 12 months we’re delineating between two anticipated reduction roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see within the “place” column beneath: MIRP for multi-inning reduction pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning reduction pitchers. The ETAs listed usually correspond to the 12 months a participant must be added to the 40-man roster to keep away from being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Handbook changes are made the place they appear acceptable, however we use that as a rule of thumb.
A fast overview of what FV (Future Worth) means may be discovered right here. A a lot deeper overview may be discovered right here.
All the ranked prospects beneath additionally seem on The Board, a useful resource the positioning provides that includes sortable scouting info for each group. It has extra particulars (and up to date TrackMan information from numerous sources) than this text and integrates each crew’s record so readers can examine prospects throughout farm programs. It may be discovered right here.
Different Prospects of Observe
Grouped by kind and listed so as of choice inside every class.
Shane Baz Replace
Baz’s final massive league look was in July of 2022 (he misplaced rookie eligibility that 12 months) earlier than a Tommy John surgical procedure induced him to overlook the rest of that season and all of 2023. To date in 2024 he’s been pitching as a starter in Durham, however he’s set to re-enter the massive league rotation tomorrow after the latest Aaron Civale commerce. Baz’s fastball has been working 94-98 mph with the identical plus driving life that bullied hitters previous to his surgical procedure, and whereas his command has been spotty all through his 10 Triple-A begins, the life on the four-seamer remains to be able to masking his lower than surgical precision. His 85-89 mph tilting slider remains to be routinely plus, however his really feel for finding it hasn’t been fairly as constant. He’s nonetheless mixing in a 80-84 mph vertical curveball and a 87-91 mph energy changeup, which has refined motion. Baz is throwing his whole combine with conviction and appears prepared from a stuff standpoint, however he’s rusty from a pitch execution standpoint. How he developments all through the remainder of the season is extra necessary than how he appears to be like in his debut.
Strikeout-Heavy Faculty Bats
Ryan Cermak, OF
Brock Jones, OF
Jalen Battles, 2B
Jones and Cermak had been the sixty fifth and 71st general picks within the 2022 draft, two faculty outfielders with massive energy and questionable hit instruments. Each are putting out a few third of the time at Bowling Inexperienced. Battles was a 2022 fifth rounder and has but to hit since leaving the faculty ranks, putting out at a 27% clip as a professional. He has good defensive palms, is strong at second base, and will deal with the recent nook as effectively.
Place Participant Depth
Wooyeoul Shin, 1B/LF
Tristan Peters, LF/RF
Tanner Murray, 2B
Carlos Colmenarez, 2B/3B
Dru Baker, OF
Shin grew up in Korea however got here to the U.S. late in 2019 to pursue baseball. He ended up at Miami Dade Neighborhood Faculty, the place he discovered English from scratch in a few 12 months and hit .407 with 15 homers in his second season. He dedicated to Miami however as an alternative signed for $150,000 as a sixteenth rounder. He’s doing okay as a 22-year-old at Low-A, and we’d prefer to see Shin carry out in opposition to extra superior arms despite the fact that it is sensible to have averted a JUCO to Excessive-A leap. Shin’s palms create a variety of energy in a brief distance. He’s a squat 6-foot, 220 kilos and remains to be studying to play protection at this stage.
Peters has a strong hit instrument, however he’s but to point out sufficient recreation energy to warrant his nook outfield defensive profile and has additionally seen his strikeout charge inflate in opposition to Triple-A pitching. He’s a median defender who has some on-base means, however he lacks each the flexibility to play a premium place and defensive versatility. Murray has really feel to hit and sprays his contact across the discipline. He’s a strong defender at second base however lacks the extra-base influence to hold a second base-only defensive profile. He’s gotten a while at shortstop, the place he appears to be like satisfactory, however he’ll want to enhance there to have true up/down worth. Signed for $3.2 million in 2022, Colmenarez is swinging and lacking at an untenable charge and has seemingly moved off of shortstop nearly completely (although he’s an excellent 2B/3B defender). Baker has maintained a top quality hit instrument, however he’s been fully void of energy in opposition to Double-A pitching, and he isn’t a adequate defender for his bat to be punchless.
Depth Arms with Aid Profiles
Enmanuel Mejia, RHP
Cesar De Jesus, LHP
Gerlin Rosario, RHP
Adam Boucher, RHP
Duncan Davitt, RHP
Engert Garcia, RHP
Garrett Acton, RHP
Haden Erbe, RHP
Mejia was a part of that vast Pirates minor league Rule 5 draft exodus of a pair years in the past. He’s been sitting 94-98 with a mid-80s slider and poor command at Durham. His MiLB participant web page signifies he was levied a three-game suspension final week. De Jesus is a 20-year-old lefty who was sitting 93-96 with a plus slider on the complicated earlier than he was promoted to Charleston, the place issues got here completely unraveled for him. He has a lefty reduction ceiling if he can reclaim one thing approaching viable command. Rosario is a big-framed 22-year-old righty with a nasty splitter and slider. He’s a excessive arm slot man whose fastball solely sits about 90 and he lacks nice fastball command, however hitters don’t appear to see both of his secondary pitches and he dominated in a protracted reduction position this 12 months till his walks received uncontrolled extra lately. The 6-foot-5 Boucher was the membership’s tenth rounder out of Duke final 12 months. He has a driving fastball as much as 96 and a reasonably nasty slider/cutter mixture, however imbalance in his decrease half causes the consistency of his supply to interrupt down.
Davitt is a low-slot sinker/slider starter whose supply appears to be like like a variety of Giants prospects. He’s having A-ball success as an old-for-the-level starter. An undersized 24-year-old righty, Garcia has been as much as 97 as a starter at Charleston and may very well be a reliever if he can discover a second good pitch and a few mechanical consistency. A former A’s prospect who debuted after which was launched in 2023, Acton signed with the Rays and is presently on the total season injured record. His funky, short-armed supply creates nasty motion in on the palms of righties. He regarded like an excellent fastball/slider reliever whereas wholesome in Oakland’s system. Erbe has a driving 94-97 mph fastball that he throws from a excessive three-quarters slot and struggles to harness within the zone. There’s additionally a tough cutter with a little bit of depth and a fading changeup in his arsenal, however he’s liable to wildness with these as effectively. He’ll want to search out the zone extra regularly to be trusted to have even up/down worth.
Strike-Throwing Starter Depth
Cole Wilcox, RHP
Nathan Wiles, RHP
Sean Hunley, RHP
Wilcox signed for a record-setting $3.3 million bonus within the third spherical in 2020, then was dealt to the Rays as a part of the Blake Snell deal. His stuff has backed up. His fastball sits within the low-to-mid-90s and he enhances it with a brief mid-80s slider and a changeup that struggles to supply constant motion. His strike-throwing report has been strong since getting into the professional ranks, and he can present size if wanted, however he isn’t lacking bats or getting an enormous charge of groundballs. Wiles instructions his 90-94 mph fastball effectively and his 84-88 mph cutter stays off barrels with its late chew. He throws his changeup to each left- and right-handed hitters and his finest ones present important depth. Hunley is gentle on velocity however he fills up the zone together with his 88-90 mph sinker, a slider with massive depth, a mid-70s curveball, and a fading changeup. There isn’t a pitch within the arsenal that’s able to producing constant whiffs, however Hunley sprays his combine within the zone and produces weak contact.
Altered by Accidents
Nick Bitsko, RHP
JJ Goss, RHP
Bitsko has had such an odd and unlucky profession thus far. For those who recall, he was initially imagined to be within the 2021 draft however reclassified as a 2020 not lengthy earlier than the pandemic, which made him robust for groups that hadn’t prioritized underclass appears to be like to guage in any respect. Bitsko nonetheless went within the first spherical, however he started having damage points nearly instantly and people have continued to this present day. He returned from his newest ailment in Might however solely made two rehab appearances earlier than he was shut down once more. Goss ran an ERA over 5.00 final 12 months. This season, he has shifted to the bullpen, the place his velo (sitting 93-94 mph) and skill to overlook bats has rebounded some. He’s nonetheless utilizing all of his pitches from when he was a starter and would possibly be capable to junkball his manner into a protracted reduction position.
System Overview
As soon as once more one of many best possible programs in baseball, the Rays have a high-end mixture of massive time influence expertise on the very high of their org to go together with general depth. As is usually the case, their professional scouting division has had a big impact on the farm system, partly as a result of the Rays are a extremely transactional crew that tends to maneuver an enormous title participant each few years resulting from their budgetary limitations. A willingness to accumulate high-variance gamers within the decrease ranges of the minors has helped them commerce for a number of of the influence prospects on the record. A number of of the professional commerce acquisitions are lately drafted faculty pitchers who the Rays then develop, typically for some time. Practically 5 years handed between once they acquired Jacob Lopez and when he debuted.
The Rays additionally have a tendency to aim an upward shift in position as soon as they draft or purchase a participant. There are lots of pitchers within the system who had been faculty relievers however are being developed as starters in professional ball, or gamers who’re enjoying a harder defensive place than they did as amateurs. That applies to a few of the highest 10 gamers within the system.
The large league crew started the season behind the eight ball due to pre-existing accidents to Jeffrey Springs (who rehabbed in opposition to in Durham yesterday), Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, and Shane Baz (who was within the tail finish of his rehab). The Rays have suffered via disappointing performances from too a lot of their hitters (particularly Randy Arozarena) to beat this. They’ve simply traded away Aaron Civale, a beginning pitcher in whom they invested fairly a bit to accumulate final 12 months. It feels just like the Rays will take a vendor’s posture on the deadline and that this technique would possibly get foie gras’d with prospects. There’s a lot depth at third base, particularly, that they could must be concerned in offers wherein they half with prospects to keep away from an enormous 40-man crunch within the close to future.
