Tampa Bay Rays: Post-Draft Pitching Prospect Rankings

Tampa Bay Rays – Brendan McKay

Brendan McKay is Baseball America’s 14th best prospect in all of baseball right now. He was taken with the fourth overall pick in 2017. He’s a favorite to win the Rookie of the Year in 2020. McKay has a career minor league ERA of 1.78.

MLB.com grades players on a 20-80 scale with 50 being a major league average. McKay currently grades out as follows:

• Fastball: 60
• Cutter: 60
• Control: 60
• Curveball: 50
• Changeup: 50
• Overall: 60

Tampa Bay Rays – Shane Baz

Shane Baz was acquired as the third player in the Chris Archer trade. He is not just some throw-in prospect. This guy went just eight picks after Brendan McKay in the 2017 draft. Baz has electric stuff but a tendency to lose control of it. his fastball routinely touches triple digits on the radar detector. As is usually the case with super-talented pitchers who join the Rays, Baz has made adjustments to increase his control by lowering his walks per nine by one full batter per inning.

Last season Baz started 17 games with a 2.99 ERA and 87 Ks in 81.1 innings. He also walked 37 batters in that time. Baz has a ways to go with his secondary pitches and his control, in general. He could end up being a frontline starter or a powerhouse out of the bullpen.

Here is Brendan McKay currently grades out according to MLB.com:

• Fastball: 70
• Curveball: 45
• Control: 45
• Slider: 65
• Changeup: 50
• Overall: 55