Format = Player Position | Age on 1-4-2026 | Highest level played | Estimated time of arrival
1. SS Carson Williams | 22 | MLB | 2025
With double-plus defense and easy power from the right side, Williams looks to open the season as the everyday shortstop for Tampa. I’ve always rated it low compared to where it’s ranked in most public places because it’s always hit me so hard that I feel compelled to hit the brakes. In 32 MLB games, he slashed .179/.219/.354 after slashing .213/.318/.447 in 111 Triple-A games. Wait, should he even be at the top of this team’s list? Yes, I think the proximity and power speed justify the spot. Besides, there’s really no one here who can knock him off the top. I just don’t really want him on my teams.
2. RHP Brody Hopkins | 24 | AA | 2026
Tampa targeted Hopkins in the Randy Arozarena trade with Seattle and should push for a rotation spot this season. In 25 starts with the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, he posted a 2.72 ERA in 116 innings. I’m surprised he didn’t get a chance to reach Triple-A at some point, but Hopkins did walk 60 batters, and it can be tough to get by as a starter with walks every other inning. He also struck out 141 batters thanks to a dynamic high-90’s fastball/slider combo, backed by a cutter, curveball and changeup. If the off-speed command comes together, he has the stuff to dominate even AL East lineups.
3. 1B Xavier Isaac | 22 | AA | 2027
Isaac was a big left-handed bat at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds. He had an odd year in 2025, slashing .201/.366/.446 with nine home runs in 41 Double-A games through June 25. He missed the rest of the season with an undisclosed injury. We can easily go with the 29.7 percent batting average and strikeout rate, but he still produced a 144 wRC+ and he actually hit .218 if you drop the first week of the season. Not sure why you would do that, other than Isaac gave up two hits in his first 25 at-bats, and we couldn’t see what the numbers might look like over a period of about 120 games.
4. FROM Theo Gillen | 20 | A | 2029
Gillen, the 18th overall pick in the 2024 draft, has a quick, left-handed swing and a plate approach beyond his years, something he had to develop as opponents tried to throw around him. He might even be some kind of walking merchant now. A little aggression could be the ticket to a breakout season in 2026. In 73 Low-A games, he slashed .267/.433/.387 with five home runs and 36 stolen bases. Might be a good time to buy your leagues.
5.SS Daniel Pierce | 19 | AFTER | 2030
Pierce signed for $4.3 million after the Rays selected him with the 18th overall pick but didn’t send him out for assignment, so we don’t have anything on the back of his baseball card to look at. A right-handed hitter at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, he has a keen eye for the plate and an approach focused on full-field contact. He profiles as an all-or-nothing, do-it-all type whose hit tool will determine his ultimate advantage.
6. 1B Tre’Morgan | 23 | AAA | 2026
Morgan, a 2023 third-round pick out of LSA, was selected based on double-plus defense at first base. He has also developed into an offensive weapon in Tampa’s system, slashing .324/.408/.483 with ten home runs and 20 stolen bases in 100 games at two levels in 2024 and posting a .398 on-base percentage in 92 Triple-A games this year. At 6-foot-4 and with average power from the left side, he still doesn’t have a prototypical profile as a first baseman, but Tampa feels like the perfect team to maximize Morgan’s strengths.
7. FROM Brailer Guerrero | 19 | A | 2029
At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds from the left side, Guerrero is a big athlete with speed, power and a $3.7 million signing bonus. He has missed time due to a plethora of injuries but looks impressive when he is out there. In 50 Low-A games, his first chance at regular season ball, he hit .251/.341/.403 with six home runs and nine stolen bases. It may not seem like much, but it was 17 percent better than the league average, and he was among the youngest players at this level this winter.
8. RHP Santiago Suárez | 21 | AAA | 2026
Suarez jumped from High-A to Triple-A to finish the season there with 11 innings across two starts, which earned a 1.00 WHIP and sped up his timeline quite a bit, at least in my own perception. His season was interrupted by injury, but he posted a 3.12 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 54 strikeouts in 51.2 innings in his total of 12 starts, displaying the smooth execution and plus command that has always allowed him to thrive against older players. His pitch mix is fine (fastball, curveball changeup), but none of the offerings are dominant at this point. He’s young at 6-foot-4 and 175 pounds, so the numbers seem to be at least somewhat correct, making him a high-probability starter.
9. RHP Jose Urbina | 20 | A+ | 2028
As usual, Tampa’s system is deep. Urbina might be my favorite nine-place guy I ranked. At 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds with a double-plus fastball, he can reach 100 mph, but he’s just scratching the surface of what he can do on a ball field. Scary stuff considering he has a 2.15 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 20 starts this season, including 19 in Low-A before the year-end awards ceremony for an appearance in High-A. He struck out 101 batters in 96.1 innings, backing up the fastball with a sweepy slider and a promising changeup that fits in well with the other two.
10. RHP Gary Gill Hill | 21 | A+ | 2028
Listed at 6’2″, 160 pounds, Gill Hill has some frame-based upside to dream about for now, and his current results are good enough: a 1.16 WHIP and 3.86 ERA in 25 High-A starts (136.2 IP). He recorded just 107 strikeouts (18.8%), but the average age was 3.2 years older than him – a situation that will repeat itself in some form or another when he opens in Double-A at age 21 in 2026. His birthday is September 20, so he’ll basically always stay young all season until he isn’t. He already spits control of five pitches here in the Gill Hill text: fastball, slider, curveball, changeup, cutter, so he has a knack for spin and can probably adapt as he climbs the ladder.
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