{"id":538851,"date":"2026-01-26T14:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/538851\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T14:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:04:14","slug":"tampa-bay-rays-breakout-mlb-prospects-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/538851\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Rays Breakout MLB Prospects For 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every year, a handful of players ranked outside the top 10 in their respective farm systems take meaningful steps forward to improve their stock and vault up prospect rankings. Part of the fun is trying to identify those breakouts before it happens. So today, we\u2019re identifying Rays prospects who have the potential to make a jump in 2026.<\/p>\n

To qualify, a player must rank outside the organization\u2019s preseason Top 10 prospects.\u00a0All scouting reports are from Baseball America\u2019s 2026 Prospect handbook, which you can purchase here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can find Top 30 prospect rankings\u00a0for all teams here<\/a>\u00a0and all breakout candidates here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Breakout Prospects<\/p>\n

Cooper Flemming<\/a>, SS<\/p>\n

BA Grade\/Risk: 50\/High
Adjusted Grade: 35<\/p>\n

Track Record: In 1953, Frederick Flemming played 23 games in the Durham Bulls outfield as part of a four-season minor league career that topped out in Triple-A. Now, more than 70 years later, his grandson Cooper could also play in Durham. The Rays made that possible by drafting the Vanderbilt signee in the second round in 2025 and signing him for $2.297 million. Flemming was a showcase standout who raised his draft stock with an MVP performance at the WWBA 17U National Championship.<\/p>\n

Scouting Report: Flemming has a well-rounded blend of tools and skills, with a solid feel for how to grind out at-bats, run the bases and play defense, even if he doesn\u2019t have exceptional power, speed or twitchiness. As a hitter, Flemming\u2019s straightforward lefthanded stroke sprays line drives to all fields. He has skinny legs, but should fill out to eventually develop average power. He\u2019s a heady baserunner despite fringe-average speed. Defensively, he\u2019s an average defender at shortstop. If he gets much bigger, his hands and above-average arm would work at third base as well. He has above-average arm strength, although the length of his arm stroke isn\u2019t ideal and can lead to slower transfers.<\/p>\n

The Future: The Rays are stocked with plus defensive shortstops, but Flemming helps them diversify their pool of shortstop prospects. He has more offensive potential than Adrian Santana or Gregory Barrios. Flemming is set to head to Low-A Charleston, where his well-rounded skill set and feel for the game should help him settle into pro ball quickly.<\/p>\n

Scouting Grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 45 | Field: 50 | Arm: 55<\/p>\n

Taitn Gray<\/a>, OF<\/p>\n

BA Grade\/Risk: 50\/High
Adjusted Grade: 35<\/p>\n

Track Record: It\u2019s generally difficult for Iowa prep prospects to impress leading up to the draft because their season starts in late May. Gray found a way. He hit the ball harder than anyone at the PBR Super 60 Showcase in February, setting an event max distance record. He then matched college prospects swing for swing at the MLB Draft Combine, posting the third-highest exit velocity (114.5 mph) at the combine. He tossed in a BP homer estimated at over 500 feet for his high school for good measure. He was one of the draft\u2019s big risers, as he climbed into the third round, forgoing his Oregon commitment for a $918,300 bonus.<\/p>\n

Scouting Report: While the Rays were willing to draft older high schoolers like Cooper Flemming and Dean Moss in 2025, Gray was one of the youngest players in the draft class. As a slugger from Iowa, patience may be required, but his ability to rotate his trunk generates excellent bat speed and raw power from both sides of the plate. He loves to lift weights, and already has a chiseled frame. Gray has shown flashes of potential to develop into an average defender behind the plate, in addition to seeing time in the outfield. The Rays seem more likely to develop him in a corner outfield spot. He runs well for his size, turning in average times at his best.<\/p>\n

The Future: Gray will likely move more slowly than some of the older and more polished hitters in the Rays\u2019 draft class, but he also has some of the biggest potential if he can handle the massive jump in quality of competition.<\/p>\n

Scouting Grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 60 | Run: 50 | Field: 45 | Arm: 50<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every year, a handful of players ranked outside the top 10 in their respective farm systems take meaningful…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17605,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2377],"tags":[71247,5,4,297,2550,68,2551,2549],"class_list":{"0":"post-538851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-rays","8":"tag-2026-breakout-mlb-prospects","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-rays","12":"tag-tampa-bay","13":"tag-tampa-bay-rays","14":"tag-tampabay","15":"tag-tampabayrays"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115961781855595845","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}