Prior to the start of each season, the Draysbay community participates in an exercise that ranks the top prospects in the Tampa Bay Rays system based on popular votes.
This season, the Draysbay community ranked the top 25 prospects in the Rays system, while several others received votes but fell just short of making the cut.
With the 2025 season officially over, we can now look back and see how each prospect performed and whether their stock has improved, stayed the same or fallen over the past few months.
An important note:
This is not a reranking of the Rays’ top prospects, but rather a review of the prospects in the order they were ranked at the start of the season.
I also won’t highlight players who are no longer within the Rays organization.
What Danny wrote going into the season:
The most significant return for RP Jason Adam, Lesko was the Padres’ 15th overall selection in the 2022 draft despite needing Tommy John surgery that spring; his results have not yet come out. I combined his results for both organizations into one statistical line above, as the Rays only gave him six appearances (three starts) before the season ended. He has a fastball up to 98 mph with plus-plus changeup.
Entering the season, the Rays assigned Lesko to High-A in hopes that with some offseason tinkering he could regain his status as one of the best pitchers in baseball. However, the results were disastrous and after walking 39% of the batters he faced and allowing singles to another 39% in four appearances, the Rays decided a massive reset was in order and held Lesko off included game action for a few months until returning in mid-July.
Not much was different for Lesko upon his return, as he was still plagued by poor performance and woeful command issues. Looking at his individual performances, it’s hard to find outings where Lesko produced solid results. He had a solid performance when he returned in July, striking out two batters in a perfect inning in the Complex League; that was the highlight of his year
Minor League Stats by Month:
April: 23.62 ERA | 15.02 FIP | 14.3K% | 28.6BB% | .615 AVG | 2.2 IP | 0/4GS/G
Be able to: DO NOT PLAY
June: DO NOT PLAY
July: 1.69 ERA | 5.63 FIP | 29.6K% | 33.3BB% | .194 GDPR | 5.1 IP | 1/4 GS/G
August: 12.00 ERA | 9.46 FIP | 14.0K% | 36.0 BB% | .219 GDPR | 9IP | 0/9GS/G
September: 9.00 ERA | 3.57 FIP | 0.0 K% | 0.0 BB% | .600 AVG | 1 IP | 0/1GS/G
SEASON NUMBERS 2025:
CPX: 0.00 ERA | 3.97 FIP | 36.4K% | 27.3BB% | .063 GDPR | 11.1 WHIFF% | 5IP | 1/3GS/G
A: 12.19 ERA | 9.57 FIP | 11.7K% | 35.0 BB% | .282 AVG | 7.3 WHIFF% | 10.1 IP | 0/1GS/G
A+: 23.63 ERA | 15.02 FIP | 14.3K% | 28.6BB% | .615 AVG | 4.9 WHIFF% | 2.2 IP | 0/4GS/G
The Rays have another season until Lesko becomes Rule 5 eligible, but it wasn’t likely any team would take him at this point. Lesko made his final appearance of the year on September 7, his 22nd birthday, in Single-A, but where he will start the 2026 season is a mystery.
So is Lesko’s stock improving, staying the same or falling?
#DRB #Prospect #Review #Dylan #Lesko