Rays Prospects Likely to Debut in 2021

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.

Wander Franco takes this one for a ride to his pull side to give @EscogidoBBClub the lead. #RaysUp Who cares about LA w/ hands like these, right? pic.twitter.com/2LI3D4Hn0h

— Ralph Lifshitz (@ProspectJesus) November 18, 2020

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

Big League Debut: Brendan McKay, Tampa Bay Rays

The arrival of one of the most decorated collegiate players ever, The Rays called up Brendan McKay to make his big league debut this past weekend at home against the Texas Rangers. The lefty went six shutout innings, only surrendering one hit with one walk while striking out three. His 12.4% swinging strike rate indicates more strikeout upside down the line. McKay also made his offensive debut when he hit eighth against the Baltimore Orioles going 0-for-4.

The Rays selected the 2017 Golden Spikes Award winner with the fourth pick in the 2017 draft and gave him a $7,005,000 bonus. He was a force at the University of Louisville, putting up eye popping numbers in the box as well as on the mound on his way to three first team All-American selections. Over his three year career on campus he hit .328/.430/.536 while throwing 314 innings with a 2.23 ERA. His best season was easily in 2017 when he hit .341/.457/.659 with 18 bombs while throwing 109 innings with a 2.56 ERA.

When the Rays selected McKay they immediately announced they were moving forward with the plan to keep him as a two-way player, and this was before the arrival of Shohei Ohtani so it came with plenty of questions. McKay was playing first base everyday, except the day after he starts, and they were keeping him on his collegiate schedule which meant just pitching on Sundays while also limiting him to around 50 pitches per start.

He was assigned to Hudson Valley in the New York-Penn League to begin his career, and his first taste of pro ball was a success as he threw 20 innings with a 1.80 ERA and hit .232/.349/.376 with four homers in 36 games. He’s since stopped playing the field and has started DH’ing, but the two way experiment is still very much underway. While the offensive stats likely aren’t what people expected, his pitching has surpassed expectations. He’s a career .216/.348/.356 hitter, but in his small Triple-A sample this year he’s hitting .265/.400/.551 in fifteen games. His career numbers on the mound are highlighted by a sparkling 1.85 ERA in 165 minor league innings with 212 strikeouts and 34 walks. The Rays haven’t allowed him to surpass the 85 pitch mark in any pro start prior to his call up, so that is something to watch.

THE RANKINGS

Brendan McKay was the 61st ranked prospect on our cumulative top 100 list, and 90th on our fantasy list. We ranked McKay as the third prospect in the Rays system entering 2019.

The Tools

Fastball (60 Present/60 Future): McKay’s best pitch is his fastball, and its a plus pitch because of his ability to command it. It’s 92-94 and he can reach back for a tick or two extra when he needs it. He relies on this pitch heavily and is working to sequence better. Can become a bit too predictable with the heater and will go to it when he falls behind in the count. He can also cut his fastball at times, and it can be his best pitch often looking like a hard slider getting in on the hands of right-handed hitters.

Curveball (60 Present/60 Future): The curveball is a true 12-to-6 breaker and he will throw it against lefties and righties. It’s an above average pitch on it’s own, but when you factor in the command it bumps up to plus. He will often steal strikes with this pitch early in at-bats after the fastball has been established and then will rely on it more heavily as the game goes on.

Change (50 Present/55 Future): McKay throws this pitch primarily against righties. It’s deceptive and the arm speed is the same as the fastball but comes in in the 83-85 velocity range. The pitch has some depth to it and plays up a half grade due to his ability to command it. It has flashed plus at times and can become his primary swing and miss pitch against righties.

Pitching Conclusion: McKay showed off his command and Kluber-esque robotic demeanor on the mound during his debut. His six-foot-two frame lacks physical projection but there is room to add some muscle. It’s an athletic build, and one that appears to be able to hold up to the two-way possibilities. McKay has number two starter ceiling for me on the mound, with three above average or better pitches that play up due to plus command and groundball lean. I trust the Rays as much as anyone with this profile.

Hit (40/55): This is an interesting case. On hitting tools alone, McKay would likely be in Double-A right now working on getting the skills to translate to the stat line, but with his arm being big league ready the Rays are also seeing what they have with the bat. The bat speed is above-average. He’s becoming more pull heavy in the last year or so, but does hit a lot of balls on the ground. The Rays have gotten more out of ground ball heavy guys like Yandy Diaz this year so maybe they can work their magic here. McKay has plus walk rates and will work counts, but is often too passive and part of his struggles in the box are due to finding himself in pitchers counts. Again, the Rays are one of the best development organizations and have a raw bat here in McKay to work with.

Power (50 Game/60 Raw): It’s a short, quick swing and the ball will jump off of McKay’s bat. He can leave any park pull-side but will live in both gaps when he’s going right. He’s been working to utilize his lower half more in the the swing and is far from a finished product here. It’s hard to say how the lack of 100% focus on the bat has hindered him here. Look for him to have some 20-25 homer seasons down the road if he gets more consistent reps.

Speed (30 Present/30 Future): Don’t get greedy. The man can pitch and hit, don’t expect him to run. He’s more athletic than he looks though, and can move a bit when underway.

Hitting Conclusion: The bat isn’t big league ready right now, but he’s got future big league tools here. It’s hard to see his college numbers and not get excited about what he could be offensively though. I can see McKay at peak becoming a .250/.340/.450 bat, which will never be as valuable as what he can do on the mound, but will make him a very valuable asset with his skills. OBP league asset here.