Rising stars for the Tampa Bay Rays
With spring training starting up, each team is filled with hope for a run at a World Series title and fresh faces are ready to make a name for themselves in the majors. After a 99-63 finish in 2023, the Tampa Bay Rays will look to make their sixth-straight postseason appearance in 2024.
Here are three rising stars who will look to make an impact for the Rays in 2024.
Junior Caminero, shortstop
2023 MLB stats: .235/.278/.353, one home run and seven RBI in seven games played
After slashing .324/.384/.591 with 31 home runs and 94 RBI in 117 minor league games in 2023, Caminero got his call to the majors at 20 years old.
In a brief stint with the team, he hit .235 with one home run and seven RBI in seven games and it left him hungry for more in 2024 even if he has to start the season in the minors.
One of baseball's top prospects, he quickly rose through the Rays minor league system after making his debut with the team in 2021.
With a career .316/.383/.555 slash line with 51 home runs and 178 RBI in 222 minor league games, the Rays have struck gold yet again with Caminero.
The team will hope he can continue to ascend into the face of the franchise they know he can be in 2024 and beyond.
Taj Bradley, pitcher
2023 MLB stats: 5-8, 5.59 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 129 strikeouts in 104.2 innings pitched
One of their top pitching prospects, Bradley struggled through his debut season but showed flashes of why he was highly rated.
He struggled massively with the long ball, giving up 23 home runs in only 104.1 innings pitched, but was able to show off his arsenal that led to 129 strikeouts.
With a season under his belt and plenty of game film to watch, Bradley will enter 2024 looking to address his shortcomings while trying to help replace the hole left by trading pitcher Tyler Glasnow to the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason.
Only 22 years old, Bradley has a bright future ahead of him but he will have to do it in the tough AL East.
Isaac Paredes, third base
2023 MLB stats: .250/.352/.488, 31 home runs and 98 RBI in 143 games played
After two mediocre stints with the Detroit Tigers to begin his MLB career where he hit .215 with two home runs in 57 games, Paredes figured things out in 2023 slashing .250/.352/.488 with 31 home runs and 98 RBI.
Acquired at the start of the 2022 season from the Tigers in exchange for outfielder Austin Meadows, Paredes showed flashes with the club during 2022 with 20 home runs in 111 games but nothing like his breakout year in 2023.
Providing the club with solid defense at the hot corner, Paredes will aim to replicate his form last season in 2024 as he looks to become the long-term solution at third base for Tampa Bay.
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