The Tampa Bay Rays are next on our Players Likely to Debut series. In case you missed it, we rolled out the AL East all week.
AL East: Red Sox — Yankees — Orioles — Blue Jays
Below, you will find a list of three prospects from the respective organization. Each prospect will have a number score next to their name — this number will represent the estimated amount of time we anticipate that player seeing at the big-league level. Players that have already made their big-league debut will not be included on this list.
BREAKDOWN OF TIME ON ROSTER SCORES:
1 — September call-ups / guys that are likely to see less than 20-25 games on the roster
2 — 1/4 of the season (roughly 40 games on roster)
3 — 1/2 of the season (roughly 80 games on roster)
4 — 3/4 of the season (roughly 120 games on roster)
5 — Full season on the MLB roster
Tampa Bay Rays
Position — Name (Time on Roster Score)
2B — Vidal Brujan (3)
The Rays are not afraid to give players a chance. In recent years, you’d be hard-pressed to find an organization that used as many players as they did over the course of a full season. The club now has several top prospects that are ready for their chance. Brujan is ready for the big leagues and, if the club decides to move Brandon Lowe into a more full-time outfield role, the keystone is there for the soon-to-be 23 year old. High walk rates, low strikeout rates, and a knack for stealing bases — that’s what you can expect to see when he arrives in Saint Petersburg, FL.
SS — Wander Franco (3)
You have waited long enough. The Rays have waited long enough. There is nothing left for the No. 1 prospect in baseball to do, except take the field at Tropicana Field. He participated in the LIDOM Dominican Winter League earlier this winter, before ultimately leaving his Leones del Escogido team with shoulder soreness and biceps inflammation after playing just five games.
Willy Adames is a serviceable shortstop for the club, but Franco is the future. Perhaps the best 2021 scenario comes by keeping Adames at short and lining Franco up at third base. Joey Wendle’s bat might play-up in a super-utility/depth role. Regardless of how the team handles him, the time has come for the game’s most anticipated debut.
LHP — Shane McClanahan (2)
Drafted from the nearby University of South Florida, McClanahan made his Double-A debut late in the 2019 season. His overall numbers look promising, however his 2020 Spring Training got off to a rocky start. He pitched 2.2 innings in his first three appearances, allowing seven hits and eight earned runs. His fortunes turned over his next three games as he pitched 3.1 innings of shutout ball, allowing four hits and striking out seven.
With a fastball that gets up to 98mph and a plus breaking ball from the left side, there is a lot of bullpen risk here. The Rays are decimated with injuries to key pitchers like Yonny Chirinos (Tommy John surgery), Brendan McKay (labrum surgery), Jalen Beeks (Tommy John surgery), Brent Honeywell (arthroscopic elbow surgery), and Colin Poche (Tommy John surgery) so the Rays could use McClanahan for spot starts, long relief, or he could be a rotation regular if the injuries continue to pile up.
Notable
With Nate Lowe now on the Rangers, brother Josh Lowe has aspirations of a big-league debut in 2021. The absence of a season last year was a big detriment to the 22-year-old outfielder. Lowe saw huge gains in 2019 while playing for Double-A Montgomery, belting 18 home runs and stealing 30 bases.
The Rays have put an emphasis on developing infielders in recent years and while they have several guys that are ahead of him in the rankings, former Florida State shortstop Taylor Walls has steadily built up his profile and could make his debut later this year. Awarded as the team’s 2019 minor league pitcher of the year, Joe Ryan was also included in the 60-man player pool for the 2020 season. As stated previously, the Rays utilize a lot of arms throughout the course of a season. Once he’s added to the 40-man roster, Ryan could be a useful arm for the Rays this year.
Photo Credit: Tampa Bay Times