The Tampa Bay Rays have long been known as a factory for solid young talent, and that has not changed heading into 2025.
MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo recently conducted a poll across the league, gathering executives and scouts’ impressions of the game’s most intriguing prospects. He published his final findings on Wednesday, including their thoughts on which teams’ farm systems were the best overall.
While the Boston Red Sox led the way with 32% of the votes, the Rays placed second with 20%.
Tampa Bay was relegated to the “receiving votes” section for the question about which team drafts the best, but when respondents were asked which team was best at acquiring prospects via trade, the Rays won in a landslide. A whopping 68.8% of votes went to the Rays, with no one else garnering more than 8.3%, making it the most one-sided question that Mayo teed up.
The Rays have three prospects ranked in the top 100, per MLB Pipeline, starting with shortstop Carson Williams at No. 4. Then there’s first baseman Xavier Isaac, who comes in at No. 36, followed by infielder Brayden Taylor at No. 60.
That doesn’t even include outfielder Chandler Simpson, who was voted as the prospect with the best speed tool earlier in the week.
Those four prospects were all hand-picked by the Rays’ current regime, as were outfielders Theo Gillen and Brailer Guerrero, right-handed pitcher Gary Gill Hill and first baseman Tre’ Morgan.
Tampa Bay’s No. 8, No. 9, No. 11 and No. 12 prospects – right-handed pitcher Santiago Suarez outfielder Aidan Smith, right-handed pitcher Dylan Lesko and right-handed pitcher Brody Hopkins – all arrived via trade. Suarez came over from the Miami Marlins and Lesko got poached from the San Diego Padres, while Smith and Hopkins came back from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Randy Arozarena.
That mix of talent, plus the Rays’ reputation over the past 15 years or so, has scouts salivating over their farm system. If Tampa Bay can hit on a few of those prospects once they reach the big leagues, their next era of contention could be their best.
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