*This story was originally published on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.
*

LOS ANGELES -- The Rays¡¯ activity before the Trade Deadline came with an immediate and obvious cost.

They parted with two of their top hitters in Randy Arozarena and Isaac Paredes. They moved Jason Adam, a popular and remarkably reliable late-inning arm, and versatile right-hander Shawn Armstrong. And they shipped out Zach Eflin and Aaron Civale, removing experienced pitchers from their rotation.

Nearly a month later, Tampa Bay has only seen some of what the front office got back in those deals, specifically Christopher Morel and Dylan Carlson. But the prospects the Rays acquired then have made their farm system the best in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.

Now, they don¡¯t hang banners for having MLB¡¯s best farm system. Seeing those rankings might not alleviate much of the frustration fans have felt watching the big league team¡¯s season-long dance around .500 either. Prospects don¡¯t always pan out, and some are years away, anyway.

But make no mistake: This matters. Read the first three paragraphs of MLB Pipeline¡¯s re-rank story to understand the process behind the rankings and see how success has often closely followed a No. 1 ranking. That includes the Rays, by the way, as they were atop the pre-2020, mid-20 and pre-2021 lists.

The stars are shining

The Rays and Cubs are the only two organizations with four prospects in the top 50 of MLB Pipeline¡¯s recently updated Top 100 Prospects list: third baseman Junior Caminero at No. 2, shortstop Carson Williams at No. 6, first baseman Xavier Isaac at No. 21 and infielder Braden Taylor at No. 50.

Depth is great, but teams like the Rays also need their systems to produce impact talent. These look like impact players.

As powerful a hitter as there was in the Minors this season, Caminero is back in the big leagues with a chance to lock down an everyday role. Williams is still striking out a lot, but the 21-year-old has shown the power, speed and defense that shot him into the top 10. Isaac mashed his way to Double-A at only 20 years old, and Taylor (last year¡¯s first-round Draft pick) almost quietly put up a .902 OPS in High-A to earn his own promotion to Montgomery.

Deadline depth

Of the Rays¡¯ Top 30 Prospects, 11 joined the system in July.

That includes two Draft picks, center fielder Theo Gillen (No. 6) and second baseman ?milien Pitre (No. 29), and nine trade acquisitions: outfielder Aidan Smith (No. 10), right-handers Dylan Lesko (No. 12), Brody Hopkins (No. 13) and Jackson Baumeister (No. 19), infielder Mac Horvath (No. 20), shortstop Gregory Barrios (No. 21), outfielder Homer Bush Jr. (No. 24), outfielder/first baseman Matthew Etzel (No. 25) and catcher J.D. Gonzalez (No. 28).

The Rays already had a pretty deep system. Bringing in those players made it even deeper. Some, namely Smith and Hopkins, have a real chance to reach another level. And the more talented players you have, the better chance you have of producing big leaguers.

¡°Any time you¡¯re able to add to an already pretty talented farm system is fun for our coaches and all our staff. I¡¯m a little biased, but I think our staff is the best in baseball when it comes to putting plans together and developing players,¡± said senior director of player development Blake Butera. ¡°Once we found out about the acquisitions we¡¯d made, I think everyone got really excited ¡­ just to create an even more competitive environment, which we feel like helps get the best out of our players.¡±

Improvement from within

You might not see speedy outfielder Chandler Simpson or first baseman Tre¡¯ Morgan on any Top 100 lists. You might not have heard much about Gary Gill Hill or Trevor Harrison. But they¡¯re the kinds of homegrown players who¡¯ve helped give the Rays the best system in baseball.

With every base hit and stolen base -- 86 and counting, by the way -- Simpson (No. 5) continues to show his unique skill-set could play in the big leagues. Morgan (No. 11) started the season in Single-A, and with an overall average above .360 on the year, he¡¯s now deservedly batting third in a loaded Double-A lineup.

Before the season, it was fair to ask: Where is the next wave of pitching prospects? The Rays have added several arms, certainly around the Deadline but even dating back to the Spring Training acquisition of lefty Joe Rock (No. 23). But Gill Hill and Harrison represent another part of the answer.

Gill Hill (No. 8) took a big leap to become the top-ranked arm in their system amid an excellent season with Single-A Charleston. Others like Santiago Suarez (No. 9), Yoniel Curet (No. 15) and Ian Seymour (No. 18) have held steady, and 2023 Draft pick Harrison (No. 26) pitched his way onto the list in the low Minors.

¡°The players that we acquired three weeks ago definitely help, but I think the players that we had coming into this year, they¡¯ve all taken steps forward,¡± Butera said.