Friday, June 27

BALTIMORE -- Winning isn’t the only goal in the Minor Leagues, of course, but the Rays often say that winning is a byproduct of good development. And by that measure, plenty of good things are happening in Tampa Bay’s system.

It's been somewhat of an odd first half for the Rays down on the farm. Many of their top-ranked prospects have been inconsistent or injured, yet every affiliate in the organization has a winning record.


With half the season in the books, let’s look at the most valuable players for each of Tampa Bay’s full-season affiliates.


Overall co-MVPs: RHP Joe Boyle, LHP Ian Seymour
It was too difficult to pick just one of these starters for Triple-A Durham. Both rank among the Minors’ overall strikeout leaders, and both are clearly ready to help the Rays if needed after making cameos in the first half.

Boyle, 25, graduated from prospect status before becoming the centerpiece of the Rays’ return from the A’s for lefties Jeffrey Springs and Jacob Lopez. He made a hitless spot start in the Majors in April, and he’s been refining his control while dominating hitters in Triple-A. Boyle entered the weekend with a 1.85 ERA, an 0.99 WHIP and 88 strikeouts in 68 innings over 14 starts for Durham. He’s still walking 3.7 batters per nine innings, but that’s a significant improvement over his career 6.6 mark.

Seymour, 26, earned his first big league win during a two-inning MLB debut at Fenway Park on June 9. Then, the Rays’ No. 18 prospect kept building on his incredible season in Triple-A. The lefty entered Thursday with a 2.78 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP and 94 strikeouts (with only 20 walks) in 74 1/3 innings over 14 outings.

Triple-A Durham: OF Tristan Peters

Even omitting Boyle and Seymour, there are a handful of candidates here. First baseman Bob Seymour had 18 homers and 65 RBIs entering play on Thursday, both tops in the International League. But we’ll give the nod to Peters, a 2021 Savannah Banana who joined the Rays from the Giants in a November 2022 trade for infielder Brett Wisely. Peters, 25, has capitalized on the playing time created by the Rays’ outfield injuries and promotions, batting .301/.389/.467 with seven homers, 47 RBIs, nine steals and only 49 strikeouts against 37 walks while playing all three outfield spots in his first 76 games.

Double-A Montgomery: C Tatem Levins

Levins, 26, isn’t ranked among the Rays’ Top 30 Prospects, but he’s putting himself on the radar with a breakout season at the plate. Tampa Bay landed Levins, an eighth-round pick in 2022, in a November 2023 trade with Seattle for fellow catcher Blake Hunt. He hit just .219 with a .671 OPS last year, but he entered Thursday with a .287/.458/.448 slash line in 49 games. That preposterously high on-base percentage was the product of him having 45 walks and only 46 strikeouts. He’s allowed 58 stolen bases, but he’s also caught 21 runners stealing so far. He’s standing out on a team getting impressive performances from ranked prospects like Cooper Kinney (No. 23), Colton Ledbetter (No. 25) and starters Brody Hopkins (No. 7) and Ty Johnson (No. 19).

High-A Bowling Green: OF Noah Myers

Considering the path Myers took to this point, anything he does could be considered a bonus. But the 25-year-old has continued to establish himself as a legitimate prospect by putting together a .272/.431/.377 slash line with 19 steals and nearly as many walks (51) as strikeouts (61) in his first 58 games of the season. Not bad for a guy who was signed after playing for the Evansville Otters in the independent Frontier League two years ago. This is also a good place to note the performance of right-hander T.J. Nichols, who earned the 20th spot on the Rays’ top prospect list by racking up 84 strikeouts with only 13 walks to go along with a 3.50 ERA in 64 1/3 innings over his first 13 outings this season.

Single-A Charleston: OF Theo Gillen 

We covered Gillen in this space last month, and he’s done nothing to change opinions about his performance or his potential. The 19-year-old hit .268/.459/.423 with five homers, 26 steals and more walks (46) than strikeouts (44) in the first 43 games of his first full professional season. He has a mature approach at the plate, and his transition to the outfield has gone surprisingly smooth. All told, the Rays couldn’t ask for a much better start from their No. 5 prospect.

• Wander Franco was found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic and received a suspended two-year prison sentence. Read more >>

• The Rays reached the halfway point on Thursday with a sweep of the Royals and very little to complain about, as Jackson Stone writes. Read more >>

• The All-Star finalists were announced Thursday night, and no Rays advanced to Phase 2 of the voting. Read more >>

• Taj Bradley had a much-needed bounce-back start on Tuesday. Read more >>

• Shane McClanahan and Ha-Seong Kim are making progress, but Richie Palacios had his rehab assignment shut down. Read more >>

• Veteran slugger Eloy Jiménez came off the Minor League injured list on Tuesday and slugged a two-run homer in his first game back with Durham on Wednesday.

• Top prospect Carson Williams’ overall stats still don’t look great, but he’s heating up for Durham this month. The slick-fielding shortstop was hitting just .173/.277/.341 at the end of May, but he slashed .310/.410/.634 with six homers in his first 19 games this June.

• The Rays on Tuesday placed Single-A Charleston outfielder Brailer Guerrero, their No. 9 prospect, on the seven-day injured list with a knee injury. He last played on June 13, but it’s expected to be a relatively short stint on the IL.

• No. 10 prospect Trevor Harrison struck out eight over six hitless innings for Charleston on Wednesday.

A reminder that the Rays’ series opener against the Orioles on Friday night will air exclusively on Apple TV+. Alex Faust, Ryan Spilborghs and old friend Tricia Whitaker will be on the call. The Rays' radio coverage will be available as usual.

For more information on Apple’s “Friday Night Baseball,” click here.

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