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ST. PETERSBURG -- Looking to upgrade the American League’s best team ahead of the Trade Deadline, the Rays did not hesitate to deal from the depth of their Minor League system.
They made four deals involving eight players ranked among their Top 30 Prospects (at the time they were traded) to land Freddy Peralta, Liam Hicks, Tyler Wells and Triple-A outfielder Jack Suwinski.
COMPLETE RAYS PROSPECT COVERAGE
As the dust settled, president of baseball operations Erik Neander went out of his way to thank the Rays’ player development staff and the various groups in the front office dedicated to acquiring talent at all levels. He noted those deals were possible because Tampa Bay was “in a position where we had a lot of options with our talent -- and still feel like we have quite a bit in our system to continue forward.”
Take a look at MLB Pipeline’s midseason re-rank of the Rays’ Top 30 Prospects, and you’ll see that is indeed the case. They still have one of the best Minor League systems in all of baseball -- and definitely one of the deepest, despite all the deals they made.
“I think that’s the benefit of having a very deep system heading into the Deadline, is that you can still trade a good chunk of players and feel good about the overall volume,” Rays assistant general manager Kevin Ibach said. “You can never have too much depth. And just working from a position of strength, I still think we have a very deep system on both sides of the ball that should help insulate our Major League team as well as provide value for years to come.”
But this is not all about depth. There is legitimate star power atop the list, including five Top 100 Prospects.
Start with shortstop Grady Emerson, the second overall pick in this year’s Draft and the club’s new top-ranked prospect. There’s center fielder Theo Gillen, a homegrown talent who’s become one of the best players in the Minors.
Then there’s Caden Bodine, a fast-moving catcher acquired in the Shane Baz trade. He’s joined behind the plate by Nathan Flewelling, an unheralded third-round pick in the 2024 Draft who quickly became an organizational favorite last season before flying up the rankings this year. Rounding out that elite group is infielder Cooper Flemming, part of a 2025 Draft class that fortified the lower levels of Tampa Bay’s system with prospects to watch.
Talent and depth? That’s what the Rays are built on.
“I think the impact prospect depth at the top of the system is something that gets lost at times through the depth of the overall system,” Ibach said. “We always talk about being strong up the middle, and I think having center field, shortstop, catching depth all in that impact range is pretty exciting for our future.”
Here’s a look at the Rays’ top prospects:
- Grady Emerson, SS (MLB No. 10)
- Theo Gillen, OF (MLB No. 12)
- Caden Bodine, C (MLB No. 51)
- Nathan Flewelling, C (MLB No. 65)
- Cooper Flemming, INF (MLB No. 83)
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:
Jump: Cooper Flemming, INF (Preseason: 28 | Midseason: 5) -- Flemming entered Thursday slashing .301/.387/.448 while working all around the infield, mostly at shortstop. The 2025 second-round pick has a well-rounded skillset centered around the pure hitting ability that’s made him a Top 100 prospect. Flemming has shown extra-base power, but his hit tool alone should allow him to make an impact whether he sticks at shortstop or moves to second or third base. And he’s still only 20 years old, so there’s room to grow into more power -- like Gillen, but on the dirt.
Fall: TJ Nichols, RHP (Preseason: 7 | Midseason: 27) -- Nichols was the Rays’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2025, but he had a rough start this season, missing more than a month due to a right triceps injury after one start for Double-A Montgomery and then struggling to find his changeup as he posted an 8.37 ERA over his next seven outings there. He’s been better lately, recording a 4.12 ERA and averaging a strikeout per inning over his last seven starts, but he hasn’t quite maintained the momentum he built last year.
New to the list
Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:
1. Grady Emerson, SS (Draft, No. 2 overall)
12. Taj Marchand, SS (Draft, No. 33 overall)
17. Ben Blair, RHP (Draft, No. 49 overall)
26. Gavin Giese, RHP (Draft, No. 85 overall)
Best tools
Hit: 65 -- Grady Emerson
Power: 65 -- Xavier Isaac
Run: 75 -- Austin Overn
Arm: 60 -- Emerson (Taj Marchand, Victor Valdez, Andreimi Antunez)
Defense: 70 -- Overn (Tre’ Morgan)
Fastball: 70 -- Alexander Alberto
Curveball: 60 -- Brody Hopkins
Slider: 60 -- Alberto (Ty Johnson, Anderson Brito)
Changeup: 60 -- Gavin Giese
Control: 60 -- Santiago Suarez (Ben Blair)