Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Roundup: April introduction
Catching up on how the teams and prospects are fairing in the Rays farm system
Every Monday during the regular season, each minor league team has the day off. This serves as an excellent check point system to check in on how each team and individual prospect is performing. We are now four weeks into the 2024 campaign and some prospects have certainly continued their ascent up the organizational ladder while others are off to less than stellar starts.
According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), the overall top hitter in the Rays farm system right now is outfielder Tristan Peters, whom the Rays acquired from the San Francisco Giants during a 40-man roster crunch in November, 2022. Peters enters play on Tuesday hitting .313/.436/.531 with 3 HR over 78 plate appearances along with 4 stolen bases. Peters has a 17.9 BB% and 21.8 K% and is registering a 153 wRC+ in Triple-A Durham.
Meanwhile, the top pitcher is 19-year old Santiago Suarez, who the Rays acquired on the exact same date as Tristan Peters. Suarez came over in the trade that sent Xavier Edwards to the Marlins. Thus far in 2024, Suarez has made three starts and over 16 innings pitched, he has compiled a 1.13 ERA with a 34.5 K% and 1.8 BB% in Single-A.
Let’s break it down by team; the offensive players must have at least 20 plate appearances and the pitchers must have at least 5 innings logged.
Durham Bulls
Record: 8-13, 5.5 games back (last place in the International League East)
Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .314, Ruben Cardenas
OBP: .436, Tristan Peters
SLG: .688, Alex Jackson
HR: 6, Alex Jackson
wRC+: 153, Alex Jackson & Tristan Peters
SB: 7, Kameron Misner
Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.23, Manuel Rodriguez
FIP: 2.34, Nelson L. Alvarez
K%: 42.9%, Manuel Rodriguez
BB%: 4.2%, Jacob Lopez
WHIP: 0.77, Justin Sterner
AVG: .160, Adam Leverett & Enmanuel Mejia
WHIFF%: 23.3%, Manuel Rodriguez
Top 10 Prospects
- Junior Caminero: .267/.353/.533 | 26.5 K% | 11.8 BB% | 2 HR | 1 SB | 34 PA | 124 wRC+. Caminero has been playing on a limited schedule as he works his way back to full strength after dealing with a quad issue earlier in the season.
- Osleivis Basabe: .224/.270/.276 | 22.2 K% | 1.6 BB% | 1 HR | 1 SB | 42 wRC+ | 63 PA. Currently on the 7-day IL with a fracture wrist suffered on 4/16
- Jonny DeLuca: Hasn’t played in a regular season game yet due to broken hand suffered during Spring Training. Expected to begin a rehab assignment possibly later this week.
- Shane Baz: Hasn’t pitched in a regular season game yet due to undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022 and also dealing with oblique issues in his rehab. Will throw in an extended spring training game on Wednesday. The Rays will wait to see how Baz feels after the outing to determine his next course of action.
Highlight of the Week:
Montgomery Biscuits
Record: 8-7, 2 games back (second in the Southern League South)
Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .392, Carson Williams
OBP: .436, Carson Williams
SLG: .686, Carson Williams
HR: 3, Carson Williams & Dom Keegan
wRC+: 239, Carson Williams
SB: 8, Dru Baker
Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 0.00, Brendan McKay
FIP: 1.95, Brendan McKay
K%: 41.5%, Ian Seymour
BB%: 0.0%, five pitchers tied (Brendan McKay has faced the most hitters, 36, of this group)
WHIP: 0.33, Jeff Belge
AVG: .074, Patrick Wicklander
WHIFF%: 19.8%, Alfredo Zarraga
Top 10 Prospects
- Carson Williams: .392/.436/.686 | 25.5 K% | 5.5 BB% | 3 HR | 4 SB | 239 wRC+ | 55 PA.
- Dom Keegen: .245/.328/.453 | 19.7 K% | 8.2 BB% | 3 HR | 0 SB | 137 wRC+ | 61 PA.
Highlight of the Week:
Bowling Green Hot Rods
Record: 9-6, Tied for 1st place in the South Atlantic League South
Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .378, Chandler Simpson
OBP: .500, Chandler Simpson
SLG: .500, Colton Ledbetter & Brayden Taylor
HR: 2, Xavier Isaac & Kamren James
wRC+: 175, Brayden Taylor
SB: 14, Chandler Simpson
Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 0.00, JJ Goss
FIP: 1.26, JJ Goss
K%: 43.5%, T.J. Fondtain
BB%: 0.0%, JJ Goss
WHIP: .067, JJ Goss
AVG: .089, Yoniel Curet
WHIFF%: 25.0%, T.J. Fondtain
Top 10 Prospects
- Xavier Isaac: .191/.264/.362 | 37.7 K% | 7.5 BB% | 2 HR | 2 SB | 81 wRC+ | 53 PA.
- Brayden Taylor: .318/.456/.500 | 22.8 K% | 21.1 BB% | 1 HR | 7 SB | 175 wRC+ | 57 PA.
Highlight of the week
Charleston River Dogs
Record: 6-8, 3.5 games back (5th place in the Carolina League South)
Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .313, Bryan Broecker
OBP: .500, Bryan Broecker
SLG: .553, Angel Mateo
HR: 3, Angel Mateo
wRC+: 172, Noah Myers
SB: 9, Adrian Santana
Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 0.00, Hayden Snelsire
FIP: 2.32, Gerlin Rosario
K%: 35.7%, Adam Boucher
BB%: 1.8%, Santiago Suarez
WHIP: 0.40, Hayden Snelsire
AVG: .000, Hayden Snelsire
WHIFF%: 22.6%, Gerlin Rosario
Top 10 Prospects
Adrian Santana: .209/.306/.233 | 30.6 K% | 12.2 BB% | 0 HR | 9 SB | 72 wRC+ | 49 PA.
Highlight of the Week: