After a long-awaited Spring Training, the MLB is back in action. In the baseball world, spring is a time of optimism and hope. There’s hope for every MLB fan that their team will be a winning ball club despite any odds. There’s also hope that minor leaguers invited to Spring Training will gain the attention of their team’s front office in order to accelerate their pace to the Major Leagues. Spring also brings the fans an opportunity to learn some names from their favorite team’s farm system. The Rays’ minor leagues is known for building great talent and some of these young players have quickly made their presence known.
Two Rays’ players in particular have shown up at the plate early into Spring Training. 26-year old, Miles Mastrobuoni is one of those guys as he’s currently hitting .500 after two Spring contests. In the first game vs. the Red Sox, Miles went 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI. His 3rd inning double was off of the Red Sox ace, Nathan Eovaldi. Mastrobuoni is appearing in his third straight Spring Training as he attempts to crack the Rays’ roster in the next few seasons. The 25-year old catcher, Ford Proctor, is another minor leaguer in the Rays’ system that is having a solid start to the spring. Proctor hit a 3-run homer in the 7th inning of the first game at Jet Blue Park off of Red Sox reliever, Brian Keller. Ford was drafted by the Rays in the 3rd round of the 2018 draft and currently plays for the AA Montgomery Biscuits. He has a .268 career minor league average with 19 HRs and 124 RBIs. Mastrobuoni and Proctor will most likely remain in the minors for the 2022 season, but their hot starts are a good sign for the future.
A few other minor leaguers that should be on your radar as a Rays’ fan are OF Josh Lowe, IF/OF Vidal Brujan, and SS Greg Jones. Josh Lowe, younger brother of former Ray Nate Lowe, is poised to be added to the 2022 roster at some point this season. He has a career minor league average of .261 with 59 HRs and 268 RBIs over 5 seasons. His great power and athleticism are Major League ready and it will just come down to finding a spot for him in the Rays’ deep OF. Brujan is another young stud on the Rays’ watchlist. He has the versatility to play the infield and the outfield. He also has above average speed as he currently has stolen 195 bases over his career in the minors. Vidal showed off his glove and impressive arm strength at 3rd base in the first game of the spring. He could definitely add even more depth to the Rays’ infield. Greg Jones is a 24-year old SS who currently plays for AA Montgomery. Jones has a career average just under .300 with 15 HRs and 53 SBs. The young infielder was drafted in the first round of the 2019 draft, so he still has at least a few years before he’s on the Rays’ regular season roster. There’s a possibility of the Rays’ front office using the talented Greg Jones as trade capital because of the big contract awarded to Wander Franco.
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