Sep 26, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) in the dugout during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Rays Prospect Should Be More Highly Regarded Following Great Year

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Oct 19, 2025 4:00 PM ET

The Tampa Bay Rays are getting set to start their offseason with a mix of positives and negatives coming from the 2025 season. This was a team that started off hot and was looking like a contender in the first half of the year. Unfortunately, a bad summer crippled that momentum and they finished the campaign under the .500 mark.

While a season under .500 might feel like a failure for the franchise, they were a better team than their final record indicated. The Rays were able to have a positive run differential by a fairly significant margin, which usually results in success.

As the team heads into the winter, there will be a couple of big decisions to make regarding what the team is going to do with a couple of key veterans. Tampa Bay historically looks to move these players to help replenish talent in their farm system.

The Rays are no stranger to having a great minor league system and 2025 was no different. Even though some of their elite prospects might not have had the campaigns they were hoping, others stepped up and emerged as potential building blocks.

Ty Johnson Has Emerged

What a season for Ty Johnson in his 1st full year in the Rays system ❗️

⚾️ Southern League (Double-A) Pitcher of the Year
⚾️ Montgomery Biscuits Co-MVP
⚾️ 2.61 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 149 K in 110.1 IP pic.twitter.com/Y2ut0mq25u
— Ball State Baseball (@BallStateBB) September 24, 2025

As part of the Isaac Paredes trade not too long ago, Johnson was figured to be a prospect that the team identified could be a part of the future. Despite being a 15th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs, the 24-year-old has been able to move up the ranks of the farm system for Tampa Bay.

In 2025, Johnson spent the entire year in Double-A for the Rays and had a very impressive campaign. The right-hander was able to total a 2.61 ERA and struck out 149 batters in 110.1 innings pitched. The numbers were fantastic for the 24-year-old, and he arguably should be ranked higher than the 19th prospect in the system.

Age certainly plays a factor in that ranking, but Johnson is likely going to be someone on the radar who could get called up in 2026 if he continues to perform well. While the starting rotation for the team currently looks solid for Tampa Bay, they have some really talented arms in Double-A that are going to be worth monitoring.

Johnson and Brody Hopkins are certainly two of them, with Hopkins being the more highly regarded prospect. However, the team shouldn’t sleep on Johnson, who was just as good in 2025.