Tampa Bay Rays: Which 15 Players to Protect in an Expansion Draft

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Nick Anderson

It’s hard to believe Nick Anderson was a rookie last season. He walked into the major leagues like he owned the place. He was like “if I can pitch in the independent leagues, then I can pitch here.” Anderson cemented himself as one of the top relievers in the world. His disgusting strikeout rates are comparable to the incomparable Josh Hader. Anderson was so good, the Rays traded their saves leader from last year and appear to have handed the reigns to the game’s next superstar reliever. Nick Anderson is locked down.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Brendan McKay

McKay is one of the top prospects in the game of baseball. He is ranked as the 14th-best overall prospect by Baseball America for the 2020 season. He’s a two-way player but his arm is his golden goose. He debuted in the majors last season and struggled in just 49.0 innings. In 172 minor-league innings he has a remarkable 1.78 ERA. You can’t risk losing one of the top prospects in an expansion draft.

Tampa Bay Rays Protected Players – Vidal Brujan

Brujan stole 48 and 55 bases respectively the past two seasons. He’s generally regarded as the Rays third-best prospect and ranked as the 45th-best prospect in baseball by MLB.com. He carries a lot of value and despite being signed prior to age 18, he has five years of minor league service time. He’s a good candidate to be swiped in an expansion draft so we’ll protect him.