This off-season we set off to write our first book. Changes and challenges arose, so we've pivoted to releasing our top prospect lists & reports through the site and our Patreon. We're excited to finally show you the hard work of our evaluating team the last few months.
Below you'll find the top 10 players in the system with full reports of the top 5. The full rankings and reports on all top 30 prospects per team will be available on our Patreon at the 55-tier ($5 level) as we publish them. If you're into fantasy baseball, this tier also gets you the dynasty show, the FYPD list and the MiLB Daily Sheet in season. We plan to add all the reports to player pages on the site shortly after the season begins.
Top 10 Team Rank at First 5 Reports for Free Below
1. Shane Baz, RHP - 70 OFP
Age: 23 Highest Level: MLB
Pre-Season Rank: 2 Pre-Season OFP: 55
| Fastball | Curveball | Slider | Changeup | Command | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 50 | 70 | 55 | 55 | Moderate |
| 97-98 mph | 80-85 mph | 84-90 mph | 85-90 mph |
PHYSICAL Well proportioned, athletic frame with present strength in his lower half. Uses natural athleticism and strength well on the mound. Works exclusively out of the stretch with impressive arm speed. One of the fastest arms in all of professional baseball. Uses entire body in his delivery, while getting good extension. Neck and neck with Baltimore’s Grayson Rodriguez for the crown of best pitching prospect.
STRENGTHS UBaz has tremendous arm strength and throws every pitch hard. Fastball averaged 97 in the big leagues but he can reach back and touch 100. Was easy triple digits during his relief appearance in the Arizona Fall League in 2019. He’s corrected some of the mechanical flaws that I saw first hand. Used to overthrow and had a big head whack, now it seems he’s completely in tune with his delivery and throwing strikes at a high clip. His slider is plus. Racking up whiffs and also generating plenty of weak groundball contact. His change is his fourth pitch now, after his slider and curve, but it can be unhittable at times when he syncs everything up. Has excellent two-plane break, but he does slow his arm down when he throws it.
WEAKNESSES Feels like nitpicking here, but his curveball is only average. His command improved also but are those gains real? It’s tough to find things to identify here, and he did correct the mechanical issues that were partly responsible for his command woes.
SUMMARY We couldn’t be more all-in on Baz. If he stays healthy he’s going to be one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. He started three regular season games for the Rays last year before he found himself starting for them in the playoffs, so they obviously believe in him as well.
EVALUATOR Matt Thompson
2. Vidal Brujan, OF - 55 OFP
Age: 24 Highest Level: MLB
Pre-Season Rank: 3 Pre-Season OFP: 55
| Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 45 | 55 | 50 | 70 | Moderate |
PHYSICAL Smaller frame, but incredibly athletic. Has an already strong body that has some more room to add a bit more mass to his frame. Average length to his limbs. Very similar profile to Ketel Marte.
STRENGTHS Brujan is a switch hitter with a closed stance from the right side and a slightly open stance from the left side. He rotates extremely well and has very good swing control, possessing great bat-to-ball skills and a line-drive-oriented approach. He’s got slightly more pop from the left side of the plate, though he’s still working on tapping into it more in game. Incredibly quick runner, gets out of the box extremely well and utilizes his speed to be a serious basepath threat. He’s primarily played in center field, though he’s a better defender in the dirt at second base. He’s also played shortstop, though the arm strength isn’t quite there. His versatility is one of his many strengths.
WEAKNESSES Has failed to tap into his power consistently. He had a big power surge to start the 2021 season with seven bombs in the first month, though that accounted for over half of his home run total. The power will come as he projects to add some more weight to his frame. Arm strength is also average, giving him a better chance to stick at second base over shortstop alongside the outfield versatility.
SUMMARY As previously stated, Brujan’s profile is similar to that of Ketel Marte. He’s a versatile athlete with an ability to man center field and second base, mixed in with the occasional shortstop assignment. He’s a potential plus hitter thanks to his high contact rate and line-drive approach, with the power coming along, too. Has the makings of a solid everyday player for the Rays.
EVALUATOR Tyler Jennings
3. Taj Bradley, RHP - 55 OFP
Age: 21 Highest Level: A+
Pre-Season Rank: 20 Pre-Season OFP: 45
| Fastball | Slider | Changeup | Command | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 60 | 45 | 55 | High |
| 93-96 mph | 85-89 mph | 88-92 mph |
PHYSICAL Solid, athletic frame. Has continued to add strength since getting drafted and emerged from the Covid shutdown much stronger. Good sturdy lower half. Has some more room to add weight. Stands tall with an over-the-top delivery. Whip-like arm action while getting downhill. Solid extension, but inconsistent stride can mess with his timing. High-effort delivery.
STRENGTHS Double plus fastball velocity as he averaged 95 and touched 99 with the four-seamer. It has average spin but it comes in at a relatively flat approach angle and sneaks up on hitters. Pitch has above-average movement characteristics as well. Gets a significant amount of whiffs up in the zone. He throws a hard slider with above-average movement traits. Averaged 86 with the slider but often bumped it up over 90 mph as well. Tight breaking ball with late bite.
WEAKNESSES The changeup is a clear third pitch and it doesn’t generate the whiffs the other two pitches get. The Rays were also very conservative with Bradley’s pitch count in the lower minors, and there were several games where he could’ve gone deeper but of course, the Rays are glad he didn’t. I do wonder how he turns a lineup over multiple times with predominantly two pitches, but in today’s game starters aren’t a lock to make it past the fifth inning. If anyone can make that work it's the Rays.
SUMMARY Taj put himself on the map with a very impressive 2021 season in which he led all of the minors with a 1.83 ERA. When the Rays drafted Bradley out of the Georgia prep circuit he was one of the youngest players in the league and relatively new to pitching. The gamble has looked solid so far as he was too much for A-ball hitters to handle.
EVALUATOR Matt Thompson
4. Curtis Mead, 3B - 55 OFP
Age: 21 Highest Level: AAA
Pre-Season Rank: 21 Pre-Season OFP: 45
| Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 60 | 40 | 30 | 40 | Moderate |
PHYSICAL Not a physically imposing build. Body has room to continue to add strength, as he already has. Polished beyond his years. Has experience playing in the highest league in Australia as a young teenager before the Phillies signed him. In the box, he starts with his hands high. Long stride in the box, swing mechanically reminds me a lot of Lorenzo Cain, especially with the whip-like finish.
STRENGTHS With Wander graduating, Mead has the best combination of contact skills and power of anyone in the loaded Rays system. Mead hits line drives to all fields, and he’s strong enough now that they are leaving the yard at a higher frequency. He’s a future middle of the lineup type bat with plus hit and power tools.
WEAKNESSES Mead is a man without a true defensive home, and he will likely slide over to first base or even left field as he slides down the defensive spectrum. He’s had serious issues throwing the ball in the past, and the awkward arm action still appears to be present here. His slow release will make it tough for him to stick on the infield. He’s also a 40 runner. Speed isn’t part of his game.
SUMMARY Mead just rakes. He spent the majority of the season in A-ball but did get a late bump up to Triple-A Charlotte for the final four games of their season to help with a playoff push. He performed well in the AFL as well to end 2020. Mead will likely head to Double-A when baseball resumes. He has to be added to the 40-man roster after the 2022 season.
EVALUATOR Matt Thompson
5. Josh Lowe, OF - 50 OFP
Age: 24 Highest Level: MLB
Pre-Season Rank: 5 Pre-Season OFP: 50
| Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 55 | 55 | 60 | 60 | High |
PHYSICAL Tall, strong frame coming in at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds. Strong lower half with relatively long limbs and broad shoulders. Big time athlete. Some projection remains to his frame for muscle. Broke out in 2019, made his major league debut in 2021.
STRENGTHS Lowe is a power-over-hit specimen at the plate with some length to his swing and cuts off his follow through. It’s a tantalizing power/speed profile with big-time power to all fields and plus speed on the basepaths, making him a legitimate threat. He’s got great bat speed and there might be more power to tap into at the next level. To go along with the power, he’s got good strike zone awareness, helping him draw walks aplenty. In the field, he’s moved to the outfield, where he’s primarily played in center and right field. Strong arm and an above-average defender in center.
WEAKNESSES A big glaring weakness in Lowe’s game is the strikeouts, though that’s been an issue since his prep days. He has trouble with anything on the outer half of the plate, primarily heaters and change-ups. The length of the swing will also need to be shortened in the future.
SUMMARY Lowe has the power/speed combination to turn heads at the major league level. The strikeouts will always be a concern, but he’ll draw enough walks to combat that issue. There’s a good chance he stays in center field, but don’t rule out a move to right field with his strong arm if the bat does not perform. Fits the mold of a solid everyday player for the Rays.
EVALUATOR Tyler Jennings
6. Greg Jones, SS - 50 OFP
Age: 23 Highest Level: AA
Pre-Season Rank: 6 Pre-Season OFP: 50
7. Ian Seymour, LHP - 50 OFP
Age: 23 Highest Level: AAA
Pre-Season Rank: 17 Pre-Season OFP: 45
8. Jonathan Aranda, 2B - 50 OFP
Age: 24 Highest Level: AA
Pre-Season Rank: Unranked
9. Willy Vasquez, SS - 50 OFP
Age: 20 Highest Level: A
Pre-Season Rank: Unranked
10. Cole Wilcox, RHP - 50 OFP
Age: 22 Highest Level: A
Pre-Season Rank: 13 Pre-Season OFP: 50