2023 DRaysBay Community Prospect List No. 11

Mason Montgomery rounds out the top 10

Previous Winner

LHP Mason Montgomery (6’2” 195, 23 in 2023)

Mason Montgomery was the Rays sixth round pick in the 2021 draft out of Texas Tech. In his first full professional season he spent time split between A+ and AA. He posted a 2.10 ERA/3.11 FIP over 124.0 innings. He posted a 34.2% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. His best pitch is a plus-plus changeup that he uses of a low 90s (90-94 mph) fastball.

2023 DRaysBay Community Prospect List

Mason Montgomery (20 votes) ran away with the tenth spot in the rankings ahead of Osleivis Basabe (4 votes), Carlos Colmenarez (2 votes), and Rene Pinto (1 vote).

Rules

There will be a selection of players listed in the comments. To vote, reply to the player’s name with a +1 in the comment. For the best voting experience, filter the comment section by Oldest.

Please vote using whichever criteria you prefer! If you like stats, use stats. If you like scouting reports, reference those reports. There’s no one right way to do this — that’s what makes this exercise fun.

If you want to vote for a player who is not listed, there will be an “Others” comment. Reply to that comment with the name of your selection. This is incredibly rare because there will eventually be up to 10 players to choose from, but it’s possible a player you feel strongly about slipped through the cracks.

If you want to nominate a player to be included in the next poll, reply to the “Testers” comment with that player’s name. We will often limit the number of players accepted for the next poll to prevent the list from becoming cumbersome. All players in one poll who do not win the vote are automatically included in the next poll — there is no need to renominate.

Full rules and how tie breaks will be determined can be found in this post by Daniel Russell.

Voting will take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week.

Candidates

MI Osleivis Basabe (6’1” 188, 22 in 2023)

Osleivis Basabe was acquired by the Rays in the Nate Lowe trade with the Texas Rangers. Basabe spent the 2022 season split between A+ and AA. He combined to hit .324/.385/.462 and put up a 129 wRC+ over 495 plate appearances. He posted a 8.1% walk rate and 11.9% strikeout rate. He split time at second base, shortstop, and third base. He was added to the 40 man to protect from the Rule 5 draft this winter.

SS Carlos Colmenarez (5’10” 170, 19 in 2023)

Carlos Colmenarez came off his first year stateside playing in the Florida Complex League posting a .254/.379/.381 linea nd 120 wRC+. He put up a 11.1% walk rate and 26.8% strikeout rate. He hit one homer and stole 13 bases in 153 plate appearances. He’s expected to stay at shortstop as he matures and be able to improve game power.

1B Xavier Isaac (6’4” 240, 19 in 2023)

Xavier Isaac was the Rays first round pick (29th overall) in last year’s draft. He only played in five games in the Florida Complex League after being signed. He struck out three times (14.3%) and walked twice (9.5%) on the way to hitt ing .211/.286/.368 in 21 plate appearances. He’s limited to first base but will be interesting to see how the power translates in his first full professional season.

OF Brock Jones (6’0” 197, 22 in 2023)

Brock Jones was the Rays second round pick (65th overall) in last year’s draft out of Stanford University. Jones was able to play 19 games split between the Florida Complex League and A ball after signing. He hit .265/.407/.529 and put up a 156 wRC+ in leagues he was way overqualified for. He posted a strong 19.8% walk rate but it did come with a 31.4% strikeout rate.

OF Kameron Misner (6’4” 218, 25 in 2023)

Kameron Misner was acquired from the Miami Marlins in last winter’s trade for Joey Wendle. In AA he hit .251/.384/.431 and put up a 120 wRC+. He put up a 16.9% walk rate and 30.4% strikeout rate while hitting 16 homers and stealing 32 bases. The reason for caution are his high strikeout rate and advanced age for the level.

C Rene Pinto (5’10” 195, 26 in 2023)

Rene Pinto made his MLB debut in 2022 for the Rays. Pinto hit .213/.241/.325 and put up a 64 wRC+ in 83 plate appearances. He rarely walked (2.4%) and struck out a lot (42.2%) which led to his low OBP. The strikeout rate will have to be lower, but he does hit for power. Most importantly he showed well defensively behind the plate, so he will find a MLB role even if it maxes out in a back up role.

SS/3B Willy Vasquez (6’0” 191, 21 in 2023)

Willy Vasquez had a solid showing in his first year in full season ball. He hit .256/.313/.410 and put up a 99 wRC+ in A ball. He hit 10 homers and stole 25 bases. He put up a 7.3% walk rate and 25.6% strikeout rate. He showed good power for the age but will need to make more contact as he advances.