In just his third game at Triple-A, the Rays’ No. 3 prospect put together the kind of night that turns heads fast: three hits, two homers and a hand in Durham’s 7-0 win over Norfolk on Friday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The switch-hitting Bodine wasted no time getting involved. In the bottom of the second, he stayed on an 0-2 changeup from right-hander Trace Bright and lined it into left field for a single. That’s been part of his calling card all season, too - Bodine has been especially dangerous when he’s behind in the count, hitting .336 with an .821 OPS in those spots.
His third-inning at-bat ended with a strikeout, but Bodine answered a few innings later in a big way. Batting left-handed in the sixth, he found himself in another two-strike count and turned on a 1-2 fastball, sending it over the wall in right for his first Triple-A homer. That blast also meant he has now gone deep at all four full-season Minor League levels this season.
He wasn’t done there. In the seventh, Bodine switched to the right side against southpaw Luis De León, the Orioles’ No. 7 prospect, and jumped on the first pitch he saw - a changeup - driving it just over the left-field wall for his second homer of the night. It was his 16th home run of the season and the first time he has homered from both sides of the plate in the same game as a pro.
The power is a bonus, but Bodine’s biggest strength remains his hit tool. MLB’s No. 51 prospect entered Friday with an 89.4 percent contact rate in 424 at-bats, according to FanGraphs, a number that would rank fifth among qualified MLB hitters and sit ahead of names like Nico Hoerner and Kevin McGonigle. Across four Minor League levels this season, he’s batting .348, which ranks third among all Minor Leaguers.
And even with the pop he showed Friday, Bodine’s .526 slugging percentage still reads more like a reminder than a headline: he’s hitting enough to make everything else play up.
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 Suddenly Have A Catcher Problem Most Teams Would Want
The Rays catching depth has quietly turned into one of the organizations more enviable strengths, a nice problem for a club that has spent years valuing flexibility and player development. MLB Pipelines ranking of Tampa Bay third among all teams in catching farm system talent reflects how much is stacking up behind the plate, with Top 100 prospects Caden Bodine and Nathan Flewelling giving the pipeline real upside and a major league option in Liam Hicks now in the mix after coming over from the Marlins.
For a Rays group that always has to balance present need against future value, the challenge is less about finding enough catchers than deciding how to sort them all out. Hicks gives the big-league side some immediate stability, while Bodine and Flewelling deepen the long view, and the coming offseason should bring some roster decisions as the organization figures out who stays, who moves, and how to keep the surplus from turning into a logjam. [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 🡒]