New Rays prospect additions fitting right into the organizational mold

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Thirteen members of the Rays¡¯ Top 30 prospect list weren¡¯t in the organization at this time last year. Two arrived in the 2024 Draft, one was a 2025 international signee and a whopping 10 have come over in trades since last March. Normally with that level of turnover, you¡¯d think the group would need to use nametags in their first spring together.

Except since the end of last season, Tampa Bay has worked at developing the cohesiveness of its farm system, now arguably the deepest in baseball -- starting with a fall camp after the season, then with another camp for top prospects in January and now full Spring Training.

¡°It doesn't feel like they're super-new anymore,¡± senior director of player development Blake Butera said. ¡°If anything, we¡¯re excited to see them play in our uniform against different uniforms by this point.¡±

If you look at the types of players the Rays acquired, certain key themes emerge.

There are the toolsy center fielders, like Theo Gillen (2024 first round) and Aidan Smith (Randy Arozarena trade). There are pitchers with fastballs featuring plenty of carry, like Brody Hopkins (Arozarena), Jackson Baumeister (Zach Eflin) and Ty Johnson (Isaac Paredes). There are the elite defenders up the middle, like Homer Bush Jr. (Jason Adam) and Gregory Barrios (Aaron Civale).

¡°I think what we do really well is our scouting and player developments are so close in terms of how often we talk,¡± Butera said. ¡°We¡¯re always going back and forth. ¡®Hey, what do you see with this guy? Is this someone who we could help?¡¯ There's a lot of collaboration between departments here to make sure that what our scouts see matches up with what our PD group sees matches up with what our front office sees, and vice versa.¡±

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Going back to last year¡¯s High-A Bowling Green and Double-A Montgomery teams -- where much of the Rays¡¯ farm system was concentrated after the Trade Deadline -- there has been a process in place to turn those new faces from Rays types into actual Rays prospects, and the organization is pleased by the early returns of that process.

Smith, in particular, earned high marks with the offseason regimen he presented to his new organization -- from baseball activities to strength workouts to nutrition -- as a follow-up to a first full season that featured 11 homers, 41 steals and an .874 OPS in 97 games at Single-A. Hopkins is about to get into his first Major League game of the spring on Friday, thus missing out on the Spring Breakout game the night before, with many intrigued to see where his fastball-slider combo stands.

¡°You have to think, their worlds just got turned upside down,¡± Butera said. ¡°They thought they were Baltimore Orioles and were going to play in the Major Leagues with them. Then all of a sudden, they get flipped to us. We don't want to overreact to their results the last month of the season they were with us. We¡¯ve been paying more attention to them this offseason going into 2025 and already we're very happy with both of them.¡±

The Rays¡¯ additions haven¡¯t touched their Top 100 core just yet -- top four prospects Carson Williams, Xavier Isaac, Brayden Taylor and Tre¡¯ Morgan are all homegrown talents. But building depth behind and around that foundation is just Tampa Bay getting back to its roots.

¡°They don't see it as competition because of who we are as a Major League team and as an organization,¡± Butera said. ¡°We move guys around, and at the end of the day, we want to get our best nine players in the lineup, regardless of where that is. They're pulling for each other. We all want to do this together and it's a cool environment.¡±

First base logjam: Xavier Isaac, Tre¡¯ Morgan, Will Simpson

Last year¡¯s Spring Training Report focused on the Rays¡¯ depth at first base, and if anything that¡¯s only gotten more convoluted in the 12 months since. Isaac and Morgan combined forces at both Double-A and in the Arizona Fall League with both seeing time in the outfield in the latter to get their respective plus tools (Morgan¡¯s hit, Isaac¡¯s power) into the lineup.

Never ones to shy away from adding a talent they believe can help, the Rays also brought in first baseman Simpson from the A¡¯s this offseason as part of the return for left-handers Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez. The 2023 15th-rounder reached Double-A for 18 games late last summer and finished with 18 homers across 127 contests in his first full season, including those from his time at High-A. The Washington product has excited Tampa Bay coaches and coordinators with his extraordinary bat speed in early workouts, and he could provide a nice right-handed complement to lefties Morgan and Isaac.

¡°What he's able to do in the cages we haven't seen many people be able to do that just in terms of bat speed and exit velo,¡± Butera said. ¡°I think we're all really excited to see him get in the games and get going.¡±

A possible solution would be to push Morgan to Triple-A Durham, considering his glovework at the cold corner is Major League-caliber already and his bat-to-ball skills could translate with an aggressive push. That would leave Isaac (who had serious contact issues in the Southern League) and Simpson in Montgomery, but that¡¯s still up in the air, Butera noted. He added Simpson could see time at third base or move part time to the grass like the two others as the ¡°good problems¡± continue.

¡°I think the three of those guys,¡± he said, ¡°just with the ability to push out there, it gives us some more flexibility to get them in the lineup every day.¡±

Something new: Homer Bush Jr.

The Rays, of course, have a lightning-quick center fielder already in 100-stolen-base man Chandler Simpson and brought in another in Bush, who swiped 57 bags across two High-A teams in 2024. The latter lacks Simpson¡¯s elite contact ability, but he¡¯s shown a little more propensity for power, having hit six homers while slugging .363 last year.

With a full offseason under his new organization¡¯s guidance, Bush has impressed Rays officials with some adjustments he¡¯s made in the box to translate his premium athleticism into even more power in 2025, and the results have been there with a couple of homers in live batting practice sessions already.

¡°It¡¯s about creating a little bit more separation,¡± Butera said. ¡°He has a leg kick now and a little more hand movement, just getting his body in a better position to impact the ball. ¡­ He¡¯s an explosive player. We know it¡¯s in there. We just need to tap into it.¡±

2024 Draft sleeper: Nathan Flewelling

Gillen and ?milien Pitre were the only 2024 Draft picks to crack the Rays¡¯ Top 30, but another one lurks just outside. Alberta native Flewelling secured his place on the radar with a strong showing at the MLB Draft Combine, and as a left-handed-hitting catcher with decent bat speed, he checked several boxes Tampa Bay likes in its backstop prospects before joining the organization in the third round.

Flewelling also only turned 18 in November, so he¡¯ll be given plenty of time and space to develop. But his temperament in his first Spring Training is already catching attention from all corners.

¡°He went to our Major League game the other day,¡± Butera said, ¡°and [Kevin] Cash was saying it felt like he had been up there for a few years.¡±