This story was excerpted from Adam Berry's Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- MLB Pipeline’s preseason list of the Rays’ Top 30 Prospects dropped on Monday, featuring fresh scouting reports and information on the best young players in Tampa Bay’s system.
Creating that list is an interesting undertaking every year, and it’s easy to get lost in the granular details of grades, tools and individual analysis. But it’s also useful to take a step back and see what we can learn from the list as a whole.
With that in mind, here are five takeaways from the latest rankings.
1. This system is extremely deep.
Putting the prospects in any sort of comprehensive, logically consistent order is always the most challenging aspect of this exercise. With the Rays, the second-hardest part is usually deciding who doesn’t make the Top 30. Both were true this year.
There are some players on the latter half of the list who could finish the season in the top 10. There were others who didn’t quite make the cut but likely would in most systems; I immediately think of right-hander Jackson Baumeister and infielder Emilien Pitre, slick-fielding shortstops Gregory Barrios and Adrian Santana, near-ready relievers Alex Cook and Joe Rock, and former Top 100 prospect Brayden Taylor.
The Rays can use that depth to pull off trades, create competition within their system and put less pressure on the success of individual players.
“We try to get as many bites at the apple as possible using all of the fronts, whether it's amateur, international, through trades,” vice president/assistant GM Kevin Ibach said. “Just accumulating a wealth of prospects and then letting their development happen organically.”
2. There isn’t a ton of star power … for now.
The Rays only have three Top 100 Prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, and they all reside in the back half of the list. Their top prospect, shortstop Carson Williams, fell down the league-wide rankings after another season (and a brief big league stint) showcasing swing-and-miss tendencies amid his otherwise-elite skill set.
But that may not be true for long. For one, the Rays’ depth gives them plenty of candidates who could break out. But the real reason for optimism on that front is this: The player who will almost certainly be the best prospect in their system at the end of the year isn’t on this list, because the Rays have the No. 2 pick in this year’s MLB Draft.
“It's been quite some time since we've picked that high in the Draft, so it has everybody excited,” Ibach said. “[Amateur scouting director] Chuck Ricci and his group do a wonderful job, and they're being able to work with a different demographic than what we are used to. So, thank you, Brett Phillips.”
3. There are a lot of new faces.
As noted in this story, 14 of the club’s Top 30 prospects weren’t in the organization a year ago.
Five were 2025 Draft picks, and two headlined Tampa Bay’s most recent international signing class. But the other seven were acquired in trades, and many are likely bound for either Single-A Charleston or High-A Bowling Green alongside Draft picks, like first-rounder Daniel Pierce (No. 5).
“It's a good core group of players that are new to the organization, have not had their first professional at-bat yet but opened some eyes in the bridge league last year,” Ibach said. “We would expect big things from them coming into the year at [Single-A] Charleston.”
4. Could it be … catchers?!
The Rays overhauled their catching tandem last year, bringing in Hunter Feduccia and Nick Fortes via trade. The job is still theirs heading into this season, but there is help on the horizon that could -- potentially*,* maybe, finally -- solve the Rays’ long-running search for a homegrown catcher.
COMPLETE RAYS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Dom Keegan (No. 20) is on the 40-man roster after spending last season in Triple-A and, therefore, close to reaching the Majors. But the Rays also have two higher-ceiling catchers to keep an eye on in the low Minors, and they are understandably excited about both Nathan Flewelling (No. 11) and Caden Bodine (No. 13).
Everyone in the organization raves about Flewelling, the 19-year-old Canadian who posted a .393 on-base percentage last season. And they were happy to land Bodine, a polished switch-hitter with a contact-oriented offensive approach, in the Shane Baz deal. Both still have a long way to go, but maybe help is on the way.
5. They have pitching, but impact is overdue.
Speaking of seeking a boost from within, it’s been a while since the Rays’ system produced an impactful starting pitcher. Baz (who did most of his developing with the Rays after being drafted by the Pirates) and Taj Bradley (homegrown) had their moments, but you could argue the most recent player who truly fits that description is Shane McClanahan, who debuted in the 2020 postseason.
Will someone on this list change that? They should have plenty of chances.
Brody Hopkins (No. 3) is the biggest name with the biggest stuff, and he’s turning heads in big league camp alongside TJ Nichols (No. 7) and Ty Johnson (No. 18). But there are plenty of other arms to watch, from hard throwers like Anderson Brito (No. 6) to elite control guys like Santiago Suarez (No. 9).