Week 23 of full minor league play brought another snapshot of how the Rays’ system is stacking up as the season moves into September 14.
At the top of the board, FanGraphs has Theo Gillen as the best prospect in the organization, and the numbers put him in rare air across all of the minors. He checks in fourth overall among minor leaguers and could wind up in the mix for Minor League Player of the Year. Caden Bodine isn’t far behind, ranked 11th among all minor leaguers.
On the mound, Aidan Cremarosa has claimed the top spot in the system. The 22-year-old has put together a strong first pro season in Single-A, posting a 2.82 ERA and 3.02 FIP with a 29.8 K% and 6.0 BB% over 76.2 innings. FanGraphs ranked him 30th in the Rays’ system in its midseason update.
There was plenty of movement elsewhere in the system, too. The Bowling Green Hot Rods were knocked out by the Winston-Salem Dash in the South Division portion of the South Atlantic League playoffs.
The Charleston River Dogs are down one game in a best-of-three matchup with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers in the Single-A Carolina League Championship Series. Grady Emerson was back in the lineup to pinch run for Charleston a few days after leaving a game early after being hit by a pitch.
Montgomery’s season is over.
A few names also popped up on the radar for different reasons. Jacob Melton has been placed on the Injured List.
Jackson Baumeister was featured on Baseball America’s Hot Sheet. Xavier Isaac also drew notice on Baseball America’s Statcast Standouts, and since his promotion to Triple-A he has hit .286/.417/.571 with 3 HR over 60 PA.
The team leader boards show where the production has come from across the affiliates.
At Durham, Blake Sabol leads the club with a .248 average, Tatem Levins owns the best on-base mark at .346 and also tops the team with a 92 wRC+, Tre’ Morgan leads in slugging at .409, Logan Davidson has 15 homers, and Homer Bush Jr. has swiped 37 bags.
Montgomery’s offense has been powered by Austin Overn, who leads the club in AVG (.309), OBP (.395), SLG (.565), and wRC+ (151). Will Simpson’s 26 homers are the team high, while Mac Horvath has stolen 50 bases.
Bowling Green has gotten big seasons from several hitters as well. Tony Santa Maria leads the team with a .291 average and 55 steals, Ryan McCoy sits on top in OBP (.414), SLG (.541), and wRC+ (145), and Nathan Flewelling has 21 home runs.
Charleston’s offense has been driven by Cooper Flemming and Taitn Gray. Flemming leads the River Dogs with a .298 average and 11 homers, while Gray is first in OBP at .389, slugging at .462, and wRC+ at 131. Alberth Palma has 41 steals.
Among the Rays’ top prospects at Charleston, Grady Emerson has hit .176/.283/.216 with a 21.7 K%, 13.3 BB%, no homers, 2 steals, and a 48 wRC+ over 60 plate appearances. Cooper Flemming has put together a .298/.379/.450 line with 11 homers and 16 steals over 518 PA, while Taitn Gray is at .296/.389/.462 with 8 homers and 13 steals over 312 PA.
Gray also had a brief CPX stint, hitting .333/.400/.611 over 20 PA before being placed on the 7-day IL on 6/1, beginning a rehab assignment on 7/14, and being activated from the IL on 7/28. Daniel Pierce has hit .252/.336/.390 with 4 homers, 6 steals, and a 101 wRC+ over 140 PA.
In Other News...
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For Tampa Bay, the appeal is bigger than one promising debut. Hopkins has shown improving command as he adjusts to Major League baseball, and the Rays have every reason to keep watching closely as the season reaches its final weeks. If the progress continues, he could become the kind of impact reliever who matters not just now, but again when the games get bigger in October. [Read more 🡒]
Victor Mesa Jr Is Giving Rays Fans A New October Reason To Believe
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The timing matters because the Rays have spent much of the season trying to build a path into meaningful September baseball, and Mesa has become one of the players giving that effort some momentum. Merrill was a key piece in San Diegos winning streak, while Laras defensive work helped Milwaukee in its own playoff-clinching moment, but Mesas recent impact has left Rays fans with a fresh reason to look ahead and wonder how far this run can carry them. [Read more 🡒]