Evaluating the Tampa Bay Rays' farm system

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Tampa Bay Rays are up to their usual tricks. The organization always has AL East fans asking: "how on earth are they winning games" is up to its usual tricks thanks to a farm system filled with a ton of young players with high ceilings.

Here's what the future of the Rays' organization looks like.

This story is part of a series analyzing the farm system for each team in the American League East. To read the Yankees' and Orioles' farm system, click here and here.

Tampa Bay Rays (Division Farm Rank: 2)

If there’s one thing the Tampa Bay Rays do better than everyone else, it’s player development. They don’t have the financial resources of the Yankees or Red Sox or the high draft picks of the Orioles. but somehow they manage to churn out elite homegrown talent year after year.

From Blake Snell to Shane McClanahan and Randy Arozarena, the Rays have perfected the art of turning prospects into stars before flipping them at peak value. Their farm system isn’t just a luxury; it’s their entire business model.

And, as always, it’s stocked with impact talent.

The Strengths: Player developers extraordinaire

Carson Williams (SS): Fielding, power, speed

Williams has impressed throughout his time in the minors thanks to his strong fielding prowess, and power at the plate (.256/.352/.469 slash line with 20 homers and 33 steals in Double-A last year). He's an ex-pitcher who can absolutely launch the ball across the diamond, with speed to cover a ton of ground in the field.

Xavier Isaac (1B): Southpaw Power

What a surprise, the Rays have a first baseman who can mash. Isaac is a lefty power bat that hit .287/.381/.535 last year in High-A, but struggled to make contact when he moved up to Double-A. If he figures out how to stay disciplined at the plate, he'll be a serious threat.

Brayden Taylor (2B/SS/3B): Ben Zobrist incarnate?

A comparison to Zobrist doesn't seem far off once you see Taylor's ability to hit for contact and power, run the bases and play multiple positions on the field. He struggled with off-speed stuff once he got to Double-A, but should continute to shoot up the minors.

Tre Morgan (1B/OF): Defensive star

Morgan is able to defend at first at an elite level, but he's no slouch in the batters box either, as evidenced by his 11% strikeout rate in 2024. His advanced stats point to a strong ability to hit to the gaps, with the occasional ball squeaking over the fence.

Theo Gillen (OF): Young gunner in the outfield

While Gillen is just a teenager, he's another promising left-handed bat in the Rays' system. He has a ton of raw talent, but was limited in high school due to injuries.

The Weaknesses: Pitching prospects are further off

Gary Gill Hill (RHP): Surprise star?

Nobody was really talking about Gill Hill until 2024 when, he exploded in Single-A with a 3.15 ERA in 108 1/3 innings and a 1.11 WHIP.

Santiago Suarez (RHP): Few runs, few walks

Suarez has seen a lot of success so far in A-ball, sporting a WHIP just over 1.1 and a very low ERA that ballooned a bit last season. His strikeout numbers went up in 2024, but so did the number of runs and walks he allowed.

Best Case Scenario: A classic Rays juggernaut is coming

They have more MLB Top 100 prospects than any other team in the division, and already have talent in the bigs in the form of Taj Bradley and Junior Caminero. Though they only won 80 games in 2024, they should rebound soon thanks to their amount of depth. You can never assume this team finish below .500.

Worst Case Scenario: A return to the 2000's

From 2000 to '07 the Rays never won more than 70 games. They kept getting solid opportunites in the draft, but, for whatever reason, weren't able to have them pan out. That could be their reality again in the coming years if some of their prospects don't pan out.

Final Verdict: The Tampa train is coming

While The Rays are on a different timeline than the Orioles and don't have the glut of top prospects like the Red Sox, they've still shown they can develop prospects at a good clip. They didn't get a top-5 farm system on accident.