Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Roundup: Week 14

An offensive force since being drafted, Bob Seymour has now reached Triple-A

This week’s minor league roundup will only features the numbers accumulated prior to the start of play on Monday as most of the Rays affiliates were in action.

We are now 14 weeks into the 2024 minor league campaign campaign and several prospects have certainly continued their ascent up the organizational ladder while others have seen their stock continue to drop.

According to FanGraphs (which factors in age and proximity to the big leagues), the overall top hitter in the Rays farm system continues to be outfielder Chandler Simpson. The 23-year has bene relentless since his promotion to Double-A. Simpson has played in 29 games for Montgomery and is hitting .373/.413/.460 with 23 stolen bases registering a 157 wRC+; Simpson is also maintaining a 7.2 BB% and 4.3 K%.

Meanwhile, the top pitcher is still Simpson’s 25-year old southpaw teammate in Montgomery, Ian Seymour. After dealing with injuries throughout the start of his professional career, Seymour is finally healthy and is dominating in Double-A. Over 15 starts, Seymour has a 1.96 ERA | 2.70 FIP with a 29.3 K% and 5.4 BB% over 82 ²⁄₃ innings pitched.

Before we get to the statistical breakdowns. Here is some news from around the Rays system.

• 1B Xaiver Isaac returned to game action this past weekend after reportedly injuring his wrist during a game on June 13th.
• LHP Jeffrey Springs continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. The southpaw has made four appearances for the Durham Bulls, compiling a 3.86 ERA | 2.46 FIP with a 34.2 K% and 2.6 BB% over 9 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched.
• INF Jonathan Aranda has been placed on the the 7-day IL by the Durham Bulls. Marc Topkin reports that Aranda is dealing with an oblique strain that will sideline him for 4-6 weeks.
• RHP Trevor Martin received a promotion to Double-A. The 2022 3rd round draft pick added more helium to his prospect stock during his short stint in High-A. Over 14 starts, Martin compiled a 2.88 ERA | 3.10 FIP with a 29.6 K% & 6.4 BB% over 72 innins pitched.
• RHP Drew Rasmussen threw a live batting practive session last week with an indication that he’ll begin a rehab assignment sometime after the All-Star break.
• 1B Bob Seymour has reached Triple-A. The 25-year old was selected in the 13th round of the 2021 draft. Since his selection, Seymour has been among the better offensive performers in all of the minor leagues as he has hit .295/.375/.494. This season in Double-A, Seymour was hitting .290/.349/.466 with 9 HR over 292 plate appearances.

Let’s break it down by team; the offensive players must still be at that level and have at least 130 plate appearances; the pitchers must have at least 130 batters faced, excluding the FCL and DSL which just began play.

Durham Bulls

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .303, Jake Mangum
OBP: .365, Austin Shenton & Curtis Mead
SLG: .522, Curtis Mead
HR: 11, Kameron Misner
wRC+: 126, Curtis Mead
SB: 22, Kameron Misner

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 4.11, Joe Rock
FIP: 3.17, Michael Gomez
K%: 30.8%, Michael Gomez
BB%: 5.6%, Joe Rock
WHIP: 1.32, Joe Rock
AVG: .212, Enmanuel Mejia
WHIFF%: 14.3%, Joe Rock

Top 10 Prospects

• Junior Caminero:
  .261/.333/.478 | 22.9 K% | 9.2 BB% | 8 HR | 1 SB | 107 wRC+ | 153 PA
  Placed on the 7-day IL on 5/29 with a quad strain. According to a report, it seems Caminero will return to game action in a couple of weeks.
• Osleivis Basabe:
  AAA: .224/.270/.276 | 22.2 K% | 1.6 BB% | 1 HR | 1 SB | 42 wRC+ | 63 PA.
  Began a rehab assignment in the Complex League this past week. Has played in six games thus far and has 4 hits in 24 trips to the plate with 6 walks and 1 strikeout. Basabe last played on June 28th, in which he was removed from a game early.
• Shane Baz:
  4.12 ERA | 3.94 FIP | 24.7 K% | 12.9 BB% | .257 AVG | 39 ¹⁄₃ IP

Montgomery Biscuits

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .373, Chandler Simpson
OBP: .413, Chandler Simpson
SLG: .522, Carson Williams
HR: 12, Carson Williams
wRC+: 161, Carson Williams
SB: 27, Dru Baker

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.96, Ian Seymour
FIP: 2.70, Ian Seymour
K%: 30.0%, Alfredo Zarraga
BB%: 4.4%, Sean Hunley
WHIP: 0.79, Ian Seymour
AVG: .167, Ian Seymour
WHIFF%: 21.0%, Austin Vernon

Top 10 Prospects

• Carson Williams:
  .280/.372/.522 | 27.1 K% | 10.4 BB% | 12 HR | 20 SB | 161 wRC+ | 269 PA
• Dom Keegen:
  .269/.360/.406 | 21.2 K% | 11.7 BB% | 5 HR | 0 SB | 126 wRC+ | 264 PA

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .298, Xavier Isaac
OBP: .405, Brayden Taylor
SLG: .556, Xavier Isaac
HR: 12, Xavier Isaac
wRC+: 156, Xavier Isaac
SB: 20, Brayden Taylor

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.69, Alex Cook
FIP: 3.33, Owen Wild
K%: 29.5%, Owen Wild
BB%: 5.6%, Roel Garcia III
WHIP: 0.99, Duncan Davitt
AVG: .197, Alex Cook
WHIFF%: 16.6%, Owen Wild

Top 10 Prospects

• Xavier Isaac:
  .298/.384/.556 | 27.8 K% | 11.8 BB% | 12 HR | 13 SB | 156 wRC+ | 237 PA
• Brayden Taylor:
  .285/.405/.516 | 24.4 K% | 16.4 BB% | 10 HR | 20 SB | 155 wRC+ | 299 PA

Charleston River Dogs

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .257, Angel Mateo
OBP: .404, Noah Myers
SLG: .431, Angel Mateo
HR: 6, Angel Mateo
wRC+: 133, Noah Myers & Angel Mateo
SB: 29, Adrian Santana

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.06, Gary Gill Hill
FIP: 2.39, Chris Villaman
K%: 28.5%. Adam Boucher
BB%: 3.1%, Chris Villaman
WHIP: 0.83, Chris Villaman
AVG: .197, Chandler Murphy
WHIFF%: 15.7%. Adam Boucher

Top 10 Prospects

• Adrian Santana:
  .208/.291/.258 | 17.0 K% | 10.2 BB% | 0 HR | 29 SB | 70 wRC+ | 265 PA

FCL Rays

Team Offensive Leaders (min. 100 PA):
AVG: .330, Brailer Guerrero & Nicandro Aybar
OBP: .452, Brailer Guerrero
SLG: .466, Brailer Guerrero
HR: 2, Brailer Guerrero
wRC+: 154, Brailer Guerrero
SB: 13, Brailer Guerrero

Team Pitching Leaders (min. 80 TBF):
ERA: 1.48, Joel Canizalez
FIP: 3.08, Michael Saturria
K%: 34.4%, Jeremy Pilon
BB%: 6.1%, Trevor Harrison
WHIP: 0.95, Joel Canizalez
AVG: .161, Joel Canizalez
WHIFF%: 18.8%, Michael Saturria

DSL Rays

Team Offensive Leaders (min. 60 PA):
AVG: .327, Roosbert Tapia
OBP: .449, Leonardo Pineda
SLG: .527, Roosbert Tapia
HR: 2, Roosbert Tapia & Deinys Gonzalez
wRC+: 151, Leonard Pineda
SB: 10, Willian Trinidad

Team Pitching Leaders (min. 60 TBF):
ERA: 2.37, Alexander Campos
FIP: 3.13, Yereny Teus
K%: 33.3%, Yereny Teus
BB%: 1.2%, Jharold Clemente
WHIP: 0.94, Jharold Clemente
AVG: .173, Ismael Cabral
WHIFF%: 48.3%, Yereny Teus