TAMPA -- It might have been easy to lose track of Tanner Murray as he spent last season in the Rays’ prospect-laden lineup at Double-A Montgomery. But what he did wasn’t lost on the Rays. After being held back by injuries in previous years, never playing more than 66 games in a season, Murray slashed .290/.328/.424 with 66 RBIs in 111 games for Montgomery. He played all over the infield, starting games at shortstop, first, second and third base. And at the end of the season, he was named the Rays’ Minor League Defensive Player of the Year. Murray made a strong impression in Spring Training, too. Invited to big league camp as a non-roster invitee, the 25-year-old infielder slashed .324/.359/.649 with three homers, three doubles and eight RBIs in 39 plate appearances over 19 games. “Murray’s had a good spring. He’s a solid player,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said in March. “He does a lot of things that can help you win over the course of the season. … Just a complete player on both sides of the ball.” The Rays remain high on Murray’s potential and his outlook as a future big leaguer, believing that health has been the only thing holding him back since he was selected in the fourth round of the 2020 Draft. Moving up to Triple-A Durham this season, Murray has picked up where he left off. He is slashing .306/.333/.569 with four homers, seven doubles and 13 RBIs in his first 18 games while getting starts at second base, third base and shortstop. Murray also worked out in the outfield during winter ball, and he could play everywhere but center field and catcher this season. Murray isn’t the only Rays prospect off to a hot start in the Minors this season. Here’s a look at one player turning heads at each level. Triple-A Durham: LHP Ian Seymour |
The Rays added Seymour (their No. 19 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) to their 40-man roster last offseason and now view him (and fellow Triple-A lefty Joe Rock, their No. 21 prospect) as MLB-ready rotation depth. Seymour finished last year in Triple-A, and he has had four strong appearances to start this season. The lefty has put together a 2.70 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 26 strikeouts and only four walks in 20 innings. Double-A Montgomery: INF Cooper Kinney |
These are small sample sizes from this level down, drawing from only a handful of games. But in his first nine games, Kinney (the Rays’ No. 23 prospect) is confirming what has long been his reputation: He can hit. Selected 34th overall in the 2021 Draft but slowed by injuries, Kinney put together a trio of three-hit performances and slugged a pair of homers within his first nine games. Outfielder Matthew Etzel (No. 26) was also off to a nice start after a so-so introduction to the organization last year, batting .290 with six RBIs in his first eight games. High-A Bowling Green: OF Noah Myers |
Selected by the Blue Jays in the 30th round of the 2019 Draft out of Wabash Valley College, the Canadian outfielder went from South Carolina to USC Upstate and wound up playing for the Evansville Otters in the independent Frontier League. He caught the Rays’ attention, joined the organization in December 2023 and went from Single-A to High-A last year. So far, all the 25-year-old has done back at Bowling Green is bat .500 (12-for-24) with two homers, two steals and 11 RBIs in his first eight games. Shortstop Adrian Santana (No. 18) also merits a mention here, as the 19-year-old slashed .333/.378/.452 with two triples and a pair of steals in his first 10 games. Single-A Charleston: OF Angel Mateo |
The Rays signed Mateo out of the Dominican Republic for $200,000 in January 2022, and he quickly made his way to Charleston in 2023. He didn’t put up great numbers in Single-A last season, slashing just .224/.323/.344 with 26 stolen bases in 101 games, but he was only 19 years old. Now 20, the outfielder is off to a nice start, with 16 hits, eight RBIs and six steals in his first 11 games. And keep an eye on reliever Alexander Alberto, the 6-foot-8 reliever who went to the Arizona Fall League last year and throws a cutter that can touch triple digits. |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
• Richie Palacios is back from the injured list. Read more>> • The Rays couldn’t build on their offensive explosion in the series opener against the Red Sox, going down quietly despite a solid start by Zack Littell in the finale. Read more>> • “I’ve never seen that, probably will never see it again.” Jake Mangum got the ball, and the wall got his batting gloves. Read more>> |
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The Rays celebrated Jackie Robinson Day with a number of events and moments earlier this week, starting with a free Community Catch Baseball Clinic on Sunday at Belmont Heights Little League. Partnering with The Players Alliance, Rays starter Taj Bradley and team staff took part in the clinic with Belmont Heights Little League, the storied program that produced Dwight Gooden and Gary Sheffield, among many other big leaguers, and now fields nearly 30 teams serving more than 300 children. “I loved it. It’s like when I was a kid. It’s like chaos, but in a fun way,” Bradley said at the clinic. “Everybody’s excited to do something different, learn new stuff. You just see people from different areas young enough to just have fun again.” |
On Tuesday at Steinbrenner Field, nine players from Belmont Heights Little League took the field with the Rays for the national anthem. Tampa Bay invited civil rights activist, attorney and former State Senator Arthenia Joyner to throw out the first pitch. The club also hosted students from Poynter Institute’s Write Field Program, a writing and mentoring program, and gave them a chance to interview Bradley and others for an article to be published in the Tampa Bay Times. Finally, the Rays recognized their 2025 Jackie Robinson Grant recipients -- awarded to organizations that reflect Robinson’s nine core values -- with a check presentation for $20,000 from the Rays Baseball Foundation and Rowdies Soccer Fund. This year’s recipients were Embracing Our Differences, Infinite Potential Learning Academy, Project Prosper, Redlands Christian Migrant Association and Supportive Equity Connections of Tampa Bay. |
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