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.
#16: Santiago Suarez
What Danny wrote entering the season:
Suarez is everything you want in a starting pitching prospect, with projectable command and plus-plus control exhibited by his consistent, low walk rates. It’s a good body and delivery, a major league fastball and curve, and he’s already mixing in a cutter with maturity beyond his place in Charleston. He’s slated for a turn in High-A next season, but one has to wonder how aggressive the Rays could get with his journey up the ladder.
Suarez displayed an improved arsenal in 2024 and that combined with well above average command made him one of the Rays top pitching prospects in the system entering the 2025 season. Early on, it looked like Suarez would take a spot as THE TOP pitching prospect on the team but he went down with a sore shoulder in May.
Suarez spent three months on the Injured List but returned in mid September. With most minor league seasons over, the Rays placed Suarez in Triple-A to finish out the year. Overall, Suarez had a very solid campaign, showcasing his elite command of the zone and posted the highest K% of his young career.
Stats by Month:
- April:
- A+: 2.45 ERA | 2.96 FIP | 30.3 K% | 5.3 BB% | .208 AVG | 18.1 IP | 4/4 GS/G
- May:
- A+: 0.00 ERA | 2.39 FIP | 21.7 K% | 4.3 BB% | .045 AVG | 7 IP |2/2 GS/G
- June:
- A+: On the Injured List
- July:
- A+: On the Injured List
- Aug:
- A+: 6.10 ERA | 2.91 FIP | 24.0 K% | 2.0 BB% | .333 AVG | 10.1 IP | 3/3 GS/G
- Sep:
- A+: 1.80 ERA | 3.99 FIP | 23.0 K% | 3.3 BB% | .203 AVG | 5 IP | 1/1 GS/G
- AAA: 4.09 ERA | 5.95 FIP | 20.9 K% | 4.7 BB% | .220 AVG | 11 IP | 2/2 GS/G
2025 SEASON NUMBERS:
A+: 2.88 ERA | 2.97 FIP | 26.9 K% | 3.8 BB% | .219 AVG | 14.6 WHIFF% | 40.2 IP | 10/10 GS/G
AAA: 4.09 ERA | 5.95 FIP | 20.9 K% | 4.7 BB% | .220 AVG | 12.9 WHIFF% | 11 IP | 2/2 GS/G
The 2026 season will be Suarez’s 4th in the Rays system and 5th since being signed by the Marlins in 2022. The soon to be 22-year old figures to start the year in Double-A but given that he’ll be Rule 5 eligible next offseason, the Rays may look to move him quickly should he earn the opportunity.
So is Suarez’s stock improving, the same, or falling?
