Santiago Suarez, RHP
21 | 6\u20192\u201d | ?
A+ | 2.88 ERA, 2.07 FIP, 40.2 IP (10 GS), 26.9% K, 3.6% BB
AAA | 5 ER (9 H, 2 BB, 3 HR) 11.0 IP (2 GS), 9 K<\/p>\n
Suarez climbed the ladder to Triple-A to finish a short season, as some triceps\/shoulder issues hampered his 2025, but when called upon this Venezuelan strike-thrower has earned the trust of his managers to go out there and pitch. He has two plus fastballs, with easy heat but average ride on the 4-seam, and a hard cutter with tight bite. His only complimentary pitch thus far is a 12-6 curve, which makes it a fairly vertical arsenal. He gets good extension, although I\u2019d be remiss to not mention the double pump in his plant leg that on first glance looks like noise, but has led to evident repeatability. What Suarez boasts in control he might lack in command. Right now it\u2019s a supinator\u2019s profile with an average arm slot. To progress he either needs to add some east-west depth to his arsenal (\u00e0 la Chris Bassitt), or find ways to unlock the spin rates a touch more (Shane Baz). I\u2019d expect him to slot into Montgomery\u2019s rotation as one of the younger starters for his level.<\/p>\n
RankPlayerPositionVotesTotalPercentageLast Season1Carson WilliamsSS142556%12Brody HopkinsRHP192576%83Jacob MeltonOF142850%NA4Theo GillenOF142654%135Ty JohnsonRHP122548%156Daniel PierceSS132357%NA7Jadher AreinamoINF152854%NA8TJ NicholsRHP132846%NR9Michael ForretRHP83324%NA10Santiago SuarezRHP113037%16<\/p>\n
The top ten is solidified with only two players returning from last year\u2019s top ten:
1. Carson Williams, SS – returning No. 1
2. Brayden Taylor, 2B\/3B – not yet a candidate
3. Xavier Isaac, 1B\/OF – candidate
4. Tre\u2019 Morgan, 1B – candidate
5. Chandler Simpson, OF – exceeded rookie limits in 2025
6. Aidan Smith, OF – not yet a candidate
7. Yoniel Curet, RHP – traded to Philadelphia for RHP Tommy McCollum (not yet a candidate)
8. Brody Hopkins, RHP – new No. 2
9. Dom Keegan, C – not yet a candidate
10. Trevor Harrison, RHP – candidate<\/p>\n
Our next round of voting brings in Homer Bush Jr. \u2014 if you\u2019d like to see Taylor, Simpson, Smith, or Keegan as a candidate, add them to Testers or make them your next vote under Others.<\/p>\n
Caden Bodine, C
22 | S\/R| 5\u201910\u201d | 200
A (BAL) | .326\/.408\/.349 (133 wRC+) 49 PA, 0 HR, 0 SB, 5 BB, 8 K<\/p>\n
Drafted 30th overall in 2025, Bodine was acquired in the Shane Baz trade<\/a>. He profiles as a relatively safe prospect thanks to 60 grade bat-to-ball skills, and comfortably-plus blocking and receiving behind the plate. There is some concern that his smaller frame limits him to fringe power, but those concerns are off-set by solid plate discipline from both sides of the plate; his sweeter swing is left handed. All catching prospects will see their value proposition shift with the challenge system, but his defensive actions, leadership, and receiving give him real value, projecting him as a solid major league contributor.<\/p>\n Anderson Brito, RHP Acquired in the Brandon Lowe trade<\/a>, Brito has three plus pitches with a fastball that touches 100 with cut-ride, and two breakers in a mid-80s curveball with surprising depth and a mid-80s slider he commands best. He also mixes in a developing low-90s cutter and a scattershot but intriguing mid-80s changeup with strong velocity and movement separation, with some added deception from his smaller frame helping limit hard contact. The concern is control, as he\u2019s posted below-average strike rates in A-ball across 2024\u201325 and lacks consistent feel outside the slider, leaving him to project as a slightly wild, high-leverage reliever for now. Still, with multiple plus pitches, improved durability, and meaningful command gains, he has mid-rotation starter upside, giving him possibly the widest range of outcomes on this list. Baseball Prospectus describes him as having \u201cShohei Ohtani\u2019s stuff with Johnny Cueto\u2019s body.\u201d<\/p>\n Slater de Brun, OF Drafted 37th overall in 2025, through a draft pick traded by the Rays, de Brun was essentially re-acquired in the Shane Baz trade<\/a>. Like many Rays outfield prospects he\u2019s not expected to develop much power, but compensates with an ability to hit to all fields, and has the benefit of years to develop. His hit tool rates plus thanks to a quick, compact swing, and his double-plus speed elevates both his baserunning and range in center; he has a solid arm and can stick long term. The key to his development will be improving pitch selection to maximize his power potential. Despite not yet playing in a pro game, he\u2019s a good bet to skip the complex league and debut in Charleston this season.<\/p>\n Homer Bush Jr. Acquired in the 2024 Jason Adam trade, the starting center fielder at Double-A passed the test of advanced pitching, but just barely. He lacks in-game power due to a lack of use of his lower half in his swing, and he whiffed more often than you can for long term success with a low-power approach. His calling cards are Rays-grade defense and plus-speed, having notably swiped 57 bags in back-to-back seasons.<\/p>\n Nathan Flewelling, C The 94th overall pick from 2024, Flewelling made his debut at 18 years young and caught a full season (75 C, 26 DH), plus a five game cup of coffee (3 C, 2 DH). Taking the longview, he could grow into 50-60 grade power with 50 grade defense, which makes him one to follow. His plus zone awareness at the plate offsets his lagging contact, and most importantly for the position his ability to call games and frame pitches are already plus. A strong season with the bat at High-A could vault him into Top-100 consideration.<\/p>\n Trevor Harrison, RHP Harrison entered the season as Baseball America\u2019s top pitcher in the system thanks to a cleaned up delivery and high heat. He ran into some bumps in the road by running up his pitch count against batters, but he still made it over 100 innings in 22 starts. A power pitcher through and through, his hard slider flirts with cutter classification and could evolve into two distinct pitches down the road. It will be interesting to see how his change up plays as he\u2019s challenged at higher levels, but for now he has premium stuff and the upside of a rotation anchor. (video<\/a>)<\/p>\n Xavier Isaac, 1B Isaac had his season cut short large-in-part due to the discovery of a brain tumor, disrupting an otherwise great start to the season that duplicated his cup of coffee in Double-A as a 20-year old, despite some minor arm injuries along the way. He has the best power projection in the system, and if he can hold his own for a full season in 2026 \u2014 particularly against southpaws, which is somewhat of a concern \u2014 the former first round pick (29th overall, 2021) could see his status restored near the top of the Rays prospect rankings.<\/p>\n Tre\u2019 Morgan, 1B\/LF Morgan continued to hit without power in 2025, a great discouragement for some evaluators, but his present 50-grade hit tool and feel for the zone allow a major league projection. He continued his improved, quieter two-strike approach in 2025 that built on his success retooling his swing in the AFL last year. The Rays gave Morgan 14 starts in Left Field last season, and Baseball America called the defense \u201cplayable,\u201d but his value is tied to his plus-plus defense at First.<\/p>\n Brendan Summerhill, OF Following an All-Star performance at the Cape Cod summer league, Summerhill exhibited some of the best bat-to-ball skills in NCAA as a junior at Arizona. His draft stock took a minor hit due to injury (broken hand from from punching a cooler) and was drafted 42nd overall, but Summerhill rebounded well with a dominant stop at Charleston to finish the year. Summerhill has plus barrel control, allowing for a high-contact approach for his long swing. He has plus speed as well, which provides a chance to stick in center. Evaluators would like to see more power to complete a five-tool profile. Even if the power doesn\u2019t materialize, it\u2019s an above average contributor\u2019s projection.<\/p>\n Jose Urbina, RHP Good pitchers grow and adjust, and Urbina has done that consistently at an age young for his level. Physically he has grown in strength, sitting at 96 with the fastball after flashing high octane in 2024, and technically he has grown, refining his dialed up slider and his two-plane curveball into complementary pitches \u2014 which lack plus command but are thrown with feel. He shouldered a starter\u2019s workload at 19, and was awarded one additional start at High-A, where he allowed two solo shots and struck out five. Overall, the age, body, and body of work have him on the trajectory of top prospect lists in the near future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Santiago Suarez, RHP21 | 6\u20192\u201d | ?A+ | 2.88 ERA, 2.07 FIP, 40.2 IP (10 GS), 26.9% K,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":547016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2377],"tags":[5,4,297,46244,2550,68,2551,2549],"class_list":{"0":"post-547015","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa-bay-rays","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-rays","11":"tag-rays-prospects","12":"tag-tampa-bay","13":"tag-tampa-bay-rays","14":"tag-tampabay","15":"tag-tampabayrays"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115987521559290217","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547015","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=547015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/547015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/547016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=547015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=547015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=547015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
21 | 5\u201910\u201d | 155
A+ (HOU) | 3.28 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 49.1 IP (12 GS), 31.1% K, 13.4% BB<\/p>\n
18 | L\/L | 5\u201910\u201d | 187<\/p>\n
24 | R\/R | 6\u20193\u201d | 215
AA | .301\/.375\/.360 (122 wRC+) 546 PA, 0 HR, 57 SB, 8.8% BB, 17.9% K<\/p>\n
19 | L\/R | 6\u20192\u201d | 200
A | .229\/.393\/.336 (126 wRC+) 439 PA, 6 HR, 9 SB, 20.3% BB, 27.6% K
A+ | 22 PA, 4 H, 5 BB, 6 K<\/p>\n
20 | 6\u20194\u201d | 225
A | 2.61 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 82.2 IP (17 GS), 22.4% K, 10.7% BB
A+ | 3.33 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 24.1 IP (5 GS), 23.8% K, 12.4% BB<\/p>\n
22 | L\/L | 6\u20193\u201d | 240
AA | .201\/.366\/.446 (144 wRC+) 175 PA, 9 HR, 1 SB, 19.4% BB, 29.7% K<\/p>\n
23 | L\/L | 6\u20190\u201d | 215
AAA | .274\/.398\/.412 (119 wRC+) 402 PA, 8 HR, 8 SB, 15.9% BB, 19.2% K<\/p>\n
22 | L\/R | 6\u20193\u201d | 200
A | .333\/.429\/.444 (160 wRC+) 42 PA, 0 HR, 5 SB, 6 BB, 5 K<\/p>\n
20 | 6\u20193\u201d | 180
A | 2.05 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 92.1 IP (19 GS), 26.4% K, 8.2% BB
A+ | 2 ER (2 HR), 4.0 IP (1 GS), 5 K, 0 BB<\/p>\n