The Tampa Bay Rays’ catching picture just got a whole lot more interesting.
Between Liam Hicks already giving them production in the majors and two Top 100 prospects rising behind him, Tampa Bay suddenly has real depth at one of baseball’s most demanding spots. MLB Pipeline’s latest ranking of the best catching farm systems only drove that point home: the Rays checked in third, behind only the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals.
MLB prospect writer Sam Dykstra put the situation in sharp focus: "The Rays have struggled to develop catching talent over the past two decades, with many noting they missed their chance by passing over Buster Posey as the No. 1 pick in 2008," said MLB prospect writer Sam Dykstra. "But now they have an opportunity with not one, but two Top 100 prospects in Caden Bodine (No. 51) and Nathan Flewelling (No.
65). Acquired from the Orioles in last offseason's Shane Baz trade, Bodine has shown one of the best overall hit tools in the Minors with a .343 average and 6.0 percent strikeout rate in 103 games across all four full-season levels, and he's good enough defensively to stick behind the plate.
Flewelling -- this year's All-Star Futures Game MVP -- has above-average power potential from the left side and is more advanced on both sides of the plate than many 19-year-old backstops. The Rays' acquisition of Liam Hicks at the Deadline means the organization doesn't have to rush either Top 100 talent to St.
Petersburg."
That kind of depth gives Tampa Bay options, and plenty of them. Hicks has already shown power and the ability to handle a pitching staff, and in his first few weeks with the club he helped Nick Martinez pitch a complete game with the Tampa Bay Rays.
Still, the real crunch point is coming. Bodine and Flewelling both look like they could be pushing for an active roster spot next spring, after climbing quickly in the minors and making noise in the Futures Game during All-Star week.
That leaves the Rays with a decision to make over the offseason: keep building around the catching talent they’ve stockpiled, or use some of it as trade currency to help the major league roster right away as they try to stay in the thick of the playoff race.
Hicks’ versatility only adds another layer. Since he can move around the field as well as work behind the plate, Tampa Bay may eventually have to decide whether Bodine and Flewelling stay at catcher or get shifted elsewhere to accelerate their path to the majors.
In Other News...
Rays Finally Cleared A Huge Stadium Hurdle But Fans Still Want One Thing
After years of stalled plans and uncertainty around their future home, the Rays have finally cleared a major political hurdle on the path to a new stadium. Tampa City Council and Hillsborough County Commissioners both gave the project the approvals it needed, with the city signing off on an $80 million loan and the county agreeing to cover roughly $800 million of the $2.3 billion mixed-use development.
The goal now is to get construction moving this fall so the ballpark can open by Opening Day 2029, a timeline that keeps the pressure on every remaining step between here and there. For Rays fans, the big question is no longer whether the project can survive the public approval process, but whether the team can turn that progress into a building that finally feels like a permanent answer. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Just Cleared Another Huge Hurdle In Stadium Fight
The Rays picked up another major piece of momentum in their long stadium pursuit Wednesday, when Hillsborough County commissioners approved plans for a new ballpark at Hillsborough Colleges Dale Mabry campus. The vote follows earlier approval from Tampas city council and keeps the team on a path toward a new home in the city, with the proposed project carrying a price tag just under $2.4 billion and support lined up from the city, county, the Rays and a loan from Major League Baseball.
For a franchise that has spent years trying to solve its ballpark future, the latest step matters because it helps turn a long-discussed idea into something closer to a real building plan. The stadium is projected to be ready for Opening Day 2029 and would anchor a mixed-use development, but there is still more to sort through before the first pitch can be thrown there. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Just Cleared A Huge Hurdle In Their Stadium Fight
The Rays long-running stadium saga took a major step forward this week when the clubs new ownership group received approval from both the Tampa City Council and the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners for a ballpark on the site of Hillsborough Colleges Dale Mabry campus. It is the clearest sign yet that the franchises future could finally be settling into place after years of uncertainty, with the plan calling for a fixed-roof stadium with at least 28,000 seats and a surrounding mixed-use development.
The agreement also runs for 35 years and includes a non-relocation clause, underscoring how much local officials want this to be more than just another stadium proposal. If everything stays on track, the ballpark is slated to open for the 2029 season, just as the Rays current use agreement at Tropicana Field expires after 2028, leaving the club with a path out of its longtime temporary home and into a new era. [Read more 🡒]