Rays Minor League Roundup: Week 24

Chandler Simpson reaches 100 stolen bases and climbing

This week’s minor league roundup will only feature the numbers accumulated prior to the start of play on Monday.

We are now 24 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 old has started to pull away from fellow Biscuit and top prospect Tre’ Morgan for the minor league batting title.

Meanwhile, the top pitcher is still 25-year old southpaw, Ian Seymour, who has been excellent since a promotion to Triple-A Durham. Over 17 starts in Double-A, Seymour had a 2.36 ERA | 2.72 FIP with a 28.3 K% and 6.3 BB% over 91 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched. Thus far in Durham, Seymour has made seven starts and has a 2.30 ERA | 4.15 FIP with a 28.7 K% & 8.3 BB% over 43 innings pitched.

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

• Something to watch over the final weeks of the minor league season in the race for the minor league batting title between Chandler Simpson and Tre’ Morgan. Entering play on Tuesday, Simpson has continued to be the model of consistency while Tre’ Morgan has fallen into a hefty slump. Morgan is now down to .333 and in 11th. Simpson’s average is 11 points higher than Nick Allen’s .345 in second place; If Simpson wins, he’ll be the first player in 40 years to have been both a NCAA D-I batting champ and MiLB batting champ.
• Another milestone to watch for with Chandler Simpson is how many stolen bases he’ll finish the season with. Entering the year, Simpson had a goal to reach 100 stolen bases; he has now surpassed that with 102 stolen bases in 119 attempts.
• Owen Wild is deserving of some recognition for the under-the-radar campaign he has delivered between Single-A and High-A. Among the 206 minor league starting pitchers with at least 15 starts, Wild has the highest whiff%, the 7th highest K%, 6th highest K-BB%, and 17th lowest FIP.
• Bob Seymour is certainly showcasing his power potential since advancing to Triple-A Durham. On Sunday, Seymour hit three HR in a game (his 4th multi-HR game as a Bull). He is now hitting .270/.341/.610 with 16 HR in just 46 games played; he leads all Rays minor leaguers with 25 HR this season.

Let’s break it down by team; the offensive players must still be at that level and have at least 200 plate appearances; the pitchers must have at least 200 batters faced. The DSL & FCL seasons are over.

Tampa Bay Rays

Top 10 Prospects

• Junior Caminero
  CPX: .235/.409/.824 | 9.1 K% | 22.7 BB% | 3 HR | 0 SB | 199 wRC+ | 22 PA.
  AAA: .276/.331/.498 | 21.2 K% | 6.8 BB% | 13 HR | 1 SB | 110 wRC+ | 236 PA
  MLB: .250/.330/.402 | 21.4 K% | 9.7 BB% | 3 HR | 2 SB | 109 wRC+ | 103 PA

Durham Bulls

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .323, Jake Mangum
OBP: .365, Jake Mangum
SLG: .498, Curtis Mead
HR: 15, Kameron Misner (B.Seymour has 16 in 176 PA)
wRC+: 121, Curtis Mead
SB: 28, Kameron Misner

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.96 Erasmo Ramirez
FIP: 3.78, Michael Gomez
K%: 28.7%, Erasmo Ramirez
BB%: 5.7%, Joe Rock
WHIP: 1.19, Erasmo Ramirez
AVG: .216, Jacob Lopez
WHIFF%: 13.7%, Nathan Wiles

Montgomery Biscuits

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .353, Chandler Simpson
OBP: .405, Chandler Simpson
SLG: .463, Carson Williams
HR: 18, Carson Williams
wRC+: 144, Chandler Simpson
SB: 71, Chandler Simpson

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 1.47, Keyshawn Askew
FIP: 3.26, Austin Vernon
K%: 29.3%, Antonio Menedez
BB%: 4.3%, Sean Hunley
WHIP: 0.86, Sean Hunley
AVG: .193, Sean Hunley
WHIFF%: 19.6%, Austin Vernon

Top 10 Prospects

• Carson Williams:
  AA: .257/.355/.463 | 28.1 K% | 11.7 BB% | 18 HR | 33 SB | 142 wRC+ | 488 PA
• Chandler Simpson
  A+: .364/.431/.372 | 10.9 K% | 10.2 BB% | 0 HR | 31 SB | 138 wRC+ | 147 PA
  AA: .353/.405/.411 | 7.5 K% | 8.4 BB% | 1 HR | 71 SB | 144 wRC+ | 345 PA
• Xavier Isaac:
  A+: .287/.381/.535 | 30.1 K% | 12.3 BB% | 15 HR | 14 SB | 157 wRC+ | 302 PA
  AA: .198/.333/.302 | 41.9 K% | 16.2 BB% | 2 HR | 1 SB | 98 wRC+ | 117 PA
• Brayden Taylor:
  A+: .269/.389/.513 | 24.8 K% | 15.9 BB% | 14 HR | 26 SB | 154 wRC+ | 383 PA
  AA: .200/.280/.411 | 37.0 K% | 10.2 BB% | 4 HR | 2 SB | 103 wRC+ | 108 PA
• Tre’ Morgan
  A: .320/.398/.440 | 11.3 K% | 8.7 BB% | 2 HR | 9 SB | 149 wRC+ | 115 PA
  A+: .371/.447/.558 | 7.8 K% | 11.3 BB% | 6 HR | 10 SB | 184 wRC+ | 231 PA
  AA: .222/.328/.352 | 20.0 K% | 13.8 BB% | 1 HR | 1 SB | 105 wRC+ | 65 PA

Bowling Green Hot Rods

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .289, Cooper Kinney
OBP: .352, Cooper Kinney
SLG: .494, Cooper Kinney
HR: 17, Brock Jones
wRC+: 137, Cooper Kinney
SB: 34, Colton Ledbetter

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.44, Chandler Murphy
FIP: 2.85, Drew Sommers
K%: 31.9%, Owen Wild
BB%: 4.9%, Chandler Murphy
WHIP: 0.91, T.J Fondtain & Chandler Murphy
AVG: .193, Chandler Murphy
WHIFF%: 17.8%, Owen Wild

Top 10 Prospects

• Dylan Lesko
  A+: 6.96 ERA | 6.27 FIP | 25.6 K% | 19.2 BB% | .209 AVG | 13.8 WHIFF% | 84 IP

Charleston River Dogs

Team Offensive Leaders:
AVG: .255, Enderson Delgado
OBP: .382, Enderson Delgado
SLG: .401, Jhon Diaz
HR: 11, Jhon Diaz
wRC+: 134, Enderson Delgado
SB: 51, Adrian Santana

Team Pitching Leaders:
ERA: 2.85, Drew Dowd
FIP: 3.24, T.J. Nichols
K%: 26.4%, Dalton Fowler
BB%: 4.7%, Santiago Saurez
WHIP: 1.11, Gary Gill Hill & Santiago Saurez
AVG: .202, Dalton Fowler
WHIFF%: 15.3%, Samuel Mejia

Top 10 Prospects

• Gary Gill Hill
  A: 3.15 ERA | 3.55 FIP | 24.2 K% | 6.2 BB% | .233 AVG | 12.4 WHIFF% | 108 ²⁄₃ IP
• Santiago Suarez
  A: 4.11 ERA | 3.51 FIP | 25.7 K% | 4.7 BB% | .242 AVG | 14.9 WHIFF% | 111 ²⁄₃ IP
• Theo Gillen
  A: .154/.353/.192 | 41.2 K% | 23.5 BB% | 0 HR | 1 SB | 86 wRC+ | 34 PA

FCL Rays

Team Offensive Leaders (min. 100 PA):
AVG: .330, Brailer Guerrero (out since 6/22)
OBP: .452, Brailer Guerrero (out since 6/22)
SLG: .466, Brailer Guerrero (out since 6/22)
HR: 2, Brailer Guerrero, Jose Perez, & Jose Contreras
wRC+: 155, Brailer Guerrero (out since 6/22)
SB: 14, Miguel Tamares

Team Pitching Leaders (min. 100 TBF):
ERA: 1.48, Maikel Hernandez
FIP: 3.01, Michael Saturria
K%: 30.7%, Jeremy Pilon
BB%: 6.7%, Maikel Hernandez
WHIP: 0.89, Maikel Hernandez
AVG: .174, Maikel Hernandez
WHIFF%: 19.6%, Michael Saturria

DSL Rays

Team Offensive Leaders (min. 100 PA):
AVG: .302, Alfonzo Martinez
OBP: .434, Domingo Batista
SLG: .482, Alfonzo Martinez
HR: 5, Alfonzo Martinez
wRC+: 143, Xavier Guillen
SB: 39, Israfell Bautista

Team Pitching Leaders (min. 100 TBF):
ERA: 2.50, Yereny Teus
FIP: 3.12, Yereny Teus
K%: 34.3%, Yereny Teus
BB%: 3.6%, Alexander Campos
WHIP: 0.96, Yereny Teus
AVG: .186, Yereny Teus
WHIFF%: 44.4%, Yereny Teus