Ranking Tampa Bay Rays Top Prospects 2023: Curtis Mead Leads The List

The Tampa Bay Rays are one of the very few baseball teams that place as much emphasis on player development as they do in order to succeed in the major leagues. There are very few doubts that the Rays will have a very competitive team in the upcoming season, despite the fact that they are on course to have the third-lowest payroll in baseball for 2023. Although the team doesn’t spend much money, they’ve made the playoffs each of the last four years while competing in one of the sport’s most tough divisions, and this has started to become a trend.

The Major League Baseball offseason is currently in full flow, and everyone is contemplating the future. By analysing each team’s prospects, we at CBS try to give as much hope as we can during this time of year.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll be focusing on each organization’s top prospects.

Ranking Tampa Bay Rays Top Prospects 2023: Curtis Mead Leads The List

Rays Top Prospects
Rk Name Age Highest Level Position ETA FV
1 Curtis Mead 22.3 AAA LF 2023 55
2 Taj Bradley 21.9 AAA SP 2023 55
3 Kyle Manzardo 22.5 AA 1B 2025 50
4 Carson Williams 19.6 A SS 2026 50
5 Junior Caminero 19.6 A 3B 2025 50
6 Greg Jones 24.9 AA SS 2024 45+
7 Mason Montgomery 22.6 AA SP 2025 45+
8 Osleivis Basabe 22.4 AA 2B 2023 45
9 Carlos Colmenarez 19.2 R SS 2025 45
10 Kameron Misner 25.1 AA CF 2024 45

 

1. Curtis Mead, INF (2023 seasonal age: 22)
Mead, an Australian who originally signed with the Phillies, was acquired in November 2019 in exchange for left-handed reliever Cristopher Sanchez. He has since advanced as a result of an offensive projection that is above average. Mead played 76 games last season while dividing his time between Double- and Triple-A, batting.298/.390/.532 with 13 home runs. He walks more regularly than he did in prior seasons and hits the ball hard and frequently. Because he lacks the arm strength to play third base and the range to play second base well, Mead’s best defensive position is in the batter’s box. Even if the Rays try to use him all over the field, there’s no denying that his bat is the selling point.

2. Taj Bradley, RHP Seasonal age in 2023: 22
Brandon Phillips and Domonic Brown, two former big-league hitters, attended Redan High School in Georgia, where Bradley, a fifth-round pick in 2018, also attended. Thanks to above-average control of two strong pitches, he has a chance to become the most skilled pitcher at the school. Bradley has a fastball that can reach the upper 90s and a cutter to go along with it. Though the ever-changing demands of the job make it less important than it would have been a decade or two ago, he will still need to focus on perfecting a third pitch. Bradley is anticipated to make his debut sometime in 2023 and has a mid-rotation starter’s career in his grasp.

3. Kyle Manzardo, 1B (2023 seasonal age: 22)
Manzardo has only hit and hit some more since being taken in the second round of the 2021 draught. In 93 games between High- and Double-A last year, he batted.327/.426/.617 with 22 home runs and nearly as many walks (59) as strikeouts (65). Although his feel for making contact and controlling the zone are undeniably good, some analysts are concerned about his potential power production Rays. His exit velocity numbers aren’t as impressive as you might expect based on the previous line, and it’s possible that his power plays are about average. That increases the pressure on the first baseman to bat for a high average and walk given the offensive demands placed on him.

 

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