DRB Prospect Review: #10 Santiago Suarez

Suarez continued to prove that he has the best command in the Rays system

Over the offseason, the Draybay community takes part in an exercise in which we compile a list of 30 prospects in the Rays system based on popular vote.

Now that the 2024 season has concluded, we can look back at these rankings and see how each individual player performed.

Reminder, this is a review of the prospects ranked heading into the 2024 season. This is not an updated ranking. Draysbay will begin the voting for the 2025 community top prospects later this offseason.

We have already covered the following:

• #30. Erick Lara.
• #29. Kenny Piper
• #28. Tanner Murray
• #27. Jacob Lopez
• #26. Marcus Johnson
• #25. Cole Wilcox
• #24. Dru Baker
• #23. Trevor Martin
• #22. Joe Rock
• #21. Ian Seymour
• #20. Tre’ Morgan
• #19. Brailer Guerrero
• #18. Jose Urbina
• #17. Mason Auer
• #16. Adrian Santana
• #15. Chandler Simpson
• #14. Osleivis Basabe
• #13. Mason Montgomery
• #12. Austin Shenton
• #11. Colton Ledbetter

We resume the reviews at #10.

10. Santiago Suarez

Before the Season

19 | 6’ 2” | 175

RK-A | 1.52 ERA, 59.1 IP (15 G, 8 GS) 22.4 K%, 4.7 BB%

A rare 18-year old with major league projection, Suarez was the key return from the Marlins in the Xavier Edwards trade while he was a 17-year old in the DSL, making his acquisition a big win for Tampa Bay’s scouting department. After finding the complex league a breeze in 2023 (1.13 ERA, 39.2 IP), Suarez was promoted to the Class-A Charleston rotation for their playoff run (2.29 ERA, 5 starts). He has a solid frame, repeatable delivery, a curveball that already projects as major league, and plus control. He has the time to develop the rest of his repertoire, but there is also quite a bit of time before we’ll know if he’s destined for the Rays rotation.

How it Went

19-year old Santiago Suarez has the best command of any pitcher in the Rays system and with an improving arsenal and experience on the mound, he could be a possible top-100 prospect in baseball at some point in 2025. According to FanGraphs midseason writeup of Suarez, his fastball velocity is up a couple of notches. However, the results on the stat sheet still aren’t want you’d expect from a pitcher as talented as Suarez; although, Suarez’s 2.97 xFIP was the 9th best in all of minor league baseball. His walk rate in 2024 was the lowest in the Rays system and it was the 8th lowest in the minor leagues among 313 pitchers with at least 100 IP.

Final 2024 Statline

A: 4.11 ERA | 3.51 FIP | 25.7 K% | 4.7 BB% | .242 AVG | 14.9 WHIFF % | 111 ²⁄₃ IP