Prior to the start of each season, the Draysbay community takes part in an excercise in which the top prospects in the Tampa Bay Rays system are ranked by popular vote.
This season, the Draysbay community ranked the top 25 prospects in the Rays system with several others receiving votes but just falling shy 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, remained the same, or fallen over past several
months.
An important note:
This is not a re-ranking of the Rays top prospects but a review of the prospects in the order that they were ranked entering the season.
Also, I will not be featuring players no longer within the Rays organization.
#21: Homer Bush Jr.
What Danny wrote entering the season:
Son of a former Blue Jays and Yankees outfielder, Bush Jr. was acquired alongside RHP Dylan Lesko and C J.D. Gonzalez in the Jason Adam trade at the 2024 deadline and has the easiest path to the majors among the three. He might be the toolsiest player in the system, depending on your opinion of Smith’s bat. Bush Jr. is an elite runner and the skills to stick in center at every level. Fangraphs says, “Bush is poetry in motion on the basepaths, running with grace and speed unlike all but a handful of pro baseball players,” and Baseball America flagged him as their sleeper in the Rays system.
During a season in which many Rays prospects floundered, Homer Bush Jr was a bright spot as he put up one of the best overall years in the system. Bush Jr led the system in average (.301) and stolen bases (57), while tying for the 5th highest wRC+ (122). He was named to the Double-A All-Star team and was awarded a Gold Glove as one of the top defenders in all of the minor leagues.
Bush started out the season on a tear, but then was average over May and June. In early July, Bush really kicked it into gear; from July 8th through the end of the season, he hit .345/.413/.402 over 230 plate appearances, registering a 144 wRC+.
Minor League Stats by Month:
April: .321/.367/.393 | 0 HR | 7 SB | 20.9 K% | 4.4 BB% | 128 wRC+ | 91 PA
May: .253/.363/.333 | 0 HR | 8 SB | 18.3 K% | 10.6 BB% | 114 wRC+ | 104 PA
June: .268/.365/.293 | 0 HR | 12 SB | 17.7 K% | 11.5 BB% | 104 wRC+ | 96 PA
July: .287/.343/.340 | 0 HR | 8 SB | 19.4 K% | 5.8 BB% | 106 wRC+ | 103 PA
Aug: .371/.427/.416 | 0 HR | 19 SB | 15.0 K% | 9.3 BB% | 151 wRC+ | 107 PA
Sept: .306/.395/.417 | 0 HR | 3 SB | 15.6 K% | 13.3 BB% | 141 wRC+ | 45 PA
2025 SEASON NUMBERS:
AA: .301/.375/.360 | 0 HR |57 SB | 17.9 K% | 8.8 BB% | 122 wRC+ | 546 PA
Homer Bush has proven himself to be a plus defender in the outfield that’s capable of getting on base and then has the ability to steal bases with ease. His frame suggests that he has power to unlock which may lead to higher slugging numbers in the future. But for now, Bush has a big league future due to his above-average speed and defense.
So is Bush Jr’s stock improving, the same, or falling?
