There are plenty of names for prospect hounds to get excited about on USA Baseball's roster for the Premier12, a tournament which pits the top 12 ranked baseball nations against each other. Four top 100 prospects dot the squad, including No. 22 overall prospect Matt Shaw, Phillies outfield prospect Justin Crawford (No. 53) and Pirates infielder Termarr Johnson (No. 75) -- who has seemingly never seen a baseball field he wasn't excited to play on -- taking part.

But one team -- already known for their development prowess -- leads the way: The Tampa Bay Rays. Carson Williams, the No. 4 prospect in the game and the Rays' top prospect, looked smooth and assured in the field on day one of the tournament, which saw the United States lose, 1-0, to Puerto Rico.

Rays Director of Player Development Blake Butera noted that Williams' skills and maturity continue to grow with every day he's on the field.

"He's starting to learn his strengths and weaknesses and how pitchers are attacking him. He's getting smarter in the box," Butera said. "He wins the Gold Glove at shortstop last year. Had another great year at shortstop this year -- defensively, he's been incredible from the jump -- and just to see him continue to progress has been fun to watch."

Three more Rays are joining Williams, with 100-stolen base speed demon Chandler Simpson ("I don't think he gets enough recognition for what he does. He changes the game," Butera said), hard-throwing reliever Austin Vernon ("His stuff is off the charts. Biggest thing for Austin is consistency with command), and the submarining Antonio Menendez, whose fastball-slider combo is nearly unhittable when coming from the side.

"The slider's really good. There's a lot of run on the fastball, so we encouraged him to throw more and more from that lower arm slot," Butera said.

Though the United States lost on Saturday evening in Guadalajara, it wasn't due to lack of effort from the Rays' stars. On a night where baserunners were hard to come by, Williams and Simpson each contributed two stolen bases.

"The havoc [Simpson causes] on the bases. It seems like every time he's on first, a few pitches later he's on third, and then sac fly and he's scoring," Butera said.

Where other teams may sometimes be reluctant to send players to international tournaments -- whether because of the risk of injury or simply because of a lack of control from a development standpoint -- the Rays embrace it.

"Speaking from our group, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these kids to go represent your country and go play in Mexico and potentially in Japan and playing in the Tokyo Dome. Those are things that 99% of kids don't get a chance to ever do," Butera said. "So, if they're going to get invited, and as long as they're healthy and they want to do it, we're fully supportive and think this is an outstanding opportunity for them and their families to be able to experience that."

It's not just about a great vacation, though: There are ballplaying and learning opportunities that can only be found in a high-stakes international tournament like this one.

"The competitive environment and the atmosphere and playing meaningful games from the jump -- where you're trying to win every single game -- that stuff is tremendous for their development," Butera noted. "If they're playing in packed stadiums against good competition, we want to replicate that as much as possible."

It's something Butera knows well from his own experience. He was Mike Piazza's bench coach for Italy at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. That year, Italy surprised many by advancing to the quarterfinals, where they lost to Japan in a more-competitive-than-it-looks 9-3 game. The time spent in that atmosphere provided Butera with a perspective and a reason to say "Yes," when teams came calling. (Even Blake's father, Barry, is in on the action: He hosted and coached Mathieu Silva, a young Italian ballplayer, at his middle school this year.)

"Going through that in the World Baseball Classic, and being in the Tokyo Dome and playing Japan and playing in Taiwan, those atmospheres are hard to replicate until you get to the big leagues and you're playing in the playoffs or a World Series environment," Butera said. "I just think being more open for our players and pushing our players to take those opportunities anytime they get that chance, because they're beneficial for their career."

He points to players like the Brewers' Sal Frelick, who played for Italy before making his big league debut, and the Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino, whose skills improved because they were thrust into an environment that had major stakes with each and every plate appearance. It's what he's hoping to see from the Rays players following their stint with Team USA.

"I really think seeing players like those guys that played in the World Baseball Classic, I think they only got better because of it," Butera said. "I'm a big supporter of international baseball and not to mention just growing the game as a whole. I think there's so much good that can come from all those experiences."