Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
Not enough has been made of the Rays having to leave their home stadium and play in a Single-A ballpark all season. Yes, it is the Trop we are talking about here, and, yes, it is George Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees' Spring Training home, but there is something to be said for familiarity and comfort, right? So, maybe there isn't that much of a difference in amenities between the two parks, but there is no denying that Tropicana Field is amongst the toughest places to play for visiting clubs. It's dark, it's hard to see fly balls, it's an unfamiliar surface for opposing infielders, and we can all be sure that the locker rooms are not as cozy as most (probably all) other MLB stadiums.
So, in a tough division to play in, with a minuscule payroll compared to their competition and no home-field advantage, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the Rays. So what does a home-field change have to do with dynasty baseball? Well, it had a big impact on the results on the field for the Rays, both offensively and with their pitching. Shane Baz, as an example, gave up 26 home runs this season, 18(!) of them helped by the short porch at Yankee Stadium South. And no doubt the left-handed-hitter-friendly park helped some of the Rays hitters throughout the season. Playing in a park with these dimensions has to get into the heads of hitters and pitchers alike.
The Rays' offense is led by their young superstar Junior Caminero. The 22-year-old Dominican-born slugger mashed 45 home runs in his first full season in the big leagues. With his tremendous bat speed, the sky is the limit; could he hit 50...60? The supporting cast has a good mix of veterans and rookies; Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe are holdovers from the 2020 Rays team that went to the World Series and lost in six games to the Dodgers. Both had strong seasons and should be productive hitters for the next couple of seasons. Joining Caminero on the left side of the infield is slick-fielding shortstop Carson Williams. Williams possesses a lot of power and speed, but also a lot of swing-and-miss. Speaking of speed, Chandler Simpson stole 44 bases in 109 games after swiping over 100 in the minors in 2024. He can single-handedly win the steals category for your team, but his deficiencies in the power department might make you think twice.
The pitching staff has a lot of talent and intrigue. Ryan Pepiot and Drew Rasmussen were solid rotation options for the Rays all season long, providing innings and solid ratios. Shane Baz is as talented as anyone, but he showed inconsistency from start to finish. Shane McClanahan, who was previously the ace of this staff before undergoing Tommy John surgery late in 2023, and then a second surgery for a nerve issue in August of 2025, after trying to recover from the setback, which initially took place in Spring Training. Who knows what McClanahan will look like upon his return, but his talent prior to the injury had him in the discussion as one of the top 5 arms in the game. The Rays traded uber-talented (and uber-frustrating) righty Taj Bradley to the Twins and Zack Littell to the Reds at the deadline, opening up some room in the rotation moving forward.
The farm has some talent, including some names that might push to be a part of the rotation in 2026, including Brody Hopkins, Joe Boyle (no longer a rookie), and Ty Johnson knocking on the door, and others (Santiago Suarez, Jackson Baumeister, Gary Gill Hill, etc.) not much further off. There are also some talented bats creeping closer to being major league contributors with left-handed hitting corner bats, Xavier Isaac and Tre' Morgan, both in the upper minors. A little further away, some speedy outfielders with growing power give Rays fans some hope for the future. Theo Gillen and Aidan Smith are toolsy and exciting and shouldn't be more than a couple of seasons away from the big leagues.
There are several players up and down this roster who should grab your attention in dynasty. There are a couple of sluggers, a plethora of speed demons, and several valuable arms who should form a sum-of-the-parts competitive squad for years to come.
Why is a 34-year-old first baseman a dynasty buy? Because he's been criminally underrated for years! Diaz was the 23rd-ranked hitter on the Fangraphs player rater in 2025 and one of just three players to hit .300 with 25 home runs (Judge, Springer). Yandy is a tremendous asset in OBP leagues (.366 OBP), hits the ball extremely hard (93.0 mph average EV), and doesn't strike out (14.1% K rate), while showing no signs of slowing down (consistent bat speed year over year). He's not going to steal any bases, but he's a "set it and forget it bat" you could probably slot in as your CI based on where he's valued in the 1B rankings.
Shane Baz
Baz has been on fantasy radars for a number of years, but he's had trouble staying healthy. There is no denying the arm talent here as he boasts an 88th percentile fastball velocity (97.0 mph) and four pitches (4Seam, Cutter, Knuckle-Curve, and Change-up) with whiff rates over 23%. Baz's 2025 season ERA (4.87) and WHIP (1.33) don't portend great things, but an elevated home run to fly ball rate led to a lot of this damage. Eighteen of his twenty-six home runs allowed came at home in the left-handed hitter-friendly George Steinbrenner Field. Expect that number to drop significantly as the Rays will return to the Trop for their home games in 2026. Baz's ERA indicators all show a full run's worth of bad luck. Baz is still just 26 and has his best seasons ahead of him, buy with confidence!
Dynasty Sells
Josh Lowe
Lowe's breakout 2023 season (.292/.335/.500, 20/32) showed us that he possesses a wide cross-section of skills. Since that time, injuries and a drop in performance level have brought him down to earth. In that 2023 season, Lowe didn't have a weakness as he was able to handle (and do damage on) all pitch types. This has not been the case in the past two seasons. In 2024 and 2025, we've seen the league adjust to his aggressive plate approach and test him with pitches more in the shadow zones of the strike zone. Lowe has not passed the test, and he had a drop in contact in 2024 and an increase in chase in 2025. Lowe has specifically struggled with fastballs (.219 BA, .404 SLG in 2025), leading to his barrels evaporating (5.9% in 2025 compared to 11.0% in 2023). We all know that aggressive hitters are volatile; Lowe's 54.5% swing rate definitely qualifies as aggressive. He's still a tooled-out athlete, but you'd be silly to count on a high batting average/OBP from a player with his approach. There are a lot safer power/speed options out there, sell Lowe to the risk-taking manager in your league.
Carson Williams
The Rays love high-end defenders at shortstop, and Williams certainly fits the bill there, as he should be a gold glove caliber infielder for years to come. Williams became a top fantasy prospect, not because of his defense, but because of the power and speed tools he also possesses in abundance. He has been a 20/20 performer in each of the last three minor league seasons and one homer shy in 2022 of four such seasons. Where it gets dicey with Williams is with his contact ability. He runs well-below-average contact rates (both in and out of the zone), and his 106 plate appearance debut was not pretty. His 70% zone contact and 61% overall contact rates were well below league average, and Triple-A wasn't much better (75% zone and 62% overall). The Rays have shown that they are more than willing to stick with a glove-first shortstop even if the bat is not producing. Williams could pop a few homers and swipe some bags, but he could be a ratio-killer. His prospect pedigree is still pretty high, so there could be a sell opportunity here.
Top Fantasy Prospects
Players are in order of their fantasy prospect ranking from our September end of season list.
Williams was as advertised in his big league debut, showing off some impressive bat speed, solid run times, a smooth glove, and a ton of swing and miss. Playing just 32 big league games didn't qualify him, but at 38.3% and 41.5% respectively, his whiff and K rates were, unsurprisingly, among the worst in the league during his time with the Rays. With the way the Rays handle their prospects and the issues he displayed in his big league debut, it's possible he starts the 2026 season back down in Triple-A, but once he is called up for good, his glove will keep him in the lineup on a consistent basis. He doesn't chase much, but will need to significantly clean up his swing and miss issues if the top 50 prospect is going to continue holding fantasy value. He did show signs of improvement toward the end of his time in Triple-A, so let's hope that another year of development brings those changes to the big leagues. - Kyle Sonntag
Gillen’s blend of above-average power, speed, and hit tools provides not only an exciting ceiling but a comfortable floor if the ceiling drops out. He'll need to show more aggression on pitches he can do damage with, as he swung at just 56% of pitches in the zone and 35% of pitches overall, but he did make contact at an 82% clip in the zone. He could also benefit from lifting the ball more, as he hit 43% of his balls in play on the ground. That combination of passivity and ground ball tendencies led to just 5 home runs in 73 games and a .119 ISO, but we know there is more power in the tank, so the hope is that he can make the necessary adjustments. He's a borderline top 50 prospect right now, and his stock could approach the top 25 range (or higher) if he starts showing more power production in 2026. - Kyle Sonntag
The good news? Isaac showed off one of the most discerning eyes in the minor leagues in 2025, posting a walk rate of 19.4% and cutting his chase rate to a mere 19.2%. His extraordinary power potential was also on full display, as he hit nine home runs in just 41 games at Double-A, good for an ISO of .245. The bad news? Those 41 games were all that Isaac managed to play: an elbow issue sidelined him briefly in April, and then a second, undisclosed injury ended his season in early July. When healthy, the first baseman also struggled mightily with swing and miss, striking out at a 29.7% clip and making contact in-zone only 72.5% of the time. While Isaac’s knowledge of the strike zone and his power upside remain impressive, his weak hit tool and uncertain health status have dampened his dynasty outlook heading into next season. For now, he is on the outside looking in on the Top-100, with the possibility of rising (or continuing to fall) quickly in the first couple months of the 2026 campaign. - Lucas Morel
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
Watch Path to the Show on Bally Sports Live & Stadium! | Amateur and Dynasty Team Writer/Podcaster | I love the Tennessee Volunteers, milk, pitchers, catchers, & you <3 P4:13
Director of Dynasty Content - Canadian born and raised, moved to Arkansas with my wife and two sons Ezra and Ari. Followed and played baseball my whole life; played dynasty for 25+ years.
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
As Director of Pro Scouting, I lead a talented group of evaluators as we break down future stars. You can find me at random California League games throughout the season!
