3 noteworthy players from the first 3 series of the Rays 2025 season

The 2025 season has been a little bit of a rollercoaster already with the Rays starting 4-1 and then losing four straight games, including being swept by the AL West-leading Rangers. Nevertheless, there are have been some undeniable bright spots on this roster and we're going to highlight three key players that have kept the Rays afloat.

1. Jonathan Aranda

Jonathan Aranda has been one of the Rays top minor league bats for a few seasons now, but he's finally gets his opportunity in the big leagues. Last year, the left-handed slugger was slated to make the Opening Day roster out of camp, but suffered a fractured ring finger that kept him off the team until late in the season.

Now, he's really making the most of his major league playing time to begin the 2025 campaign. The 26-year old first baseman is currently hitting .333 through his first eight games with an AL-leading five doubles. Rays fans saw his immense potential in September of last season when he blasted five homers in a span of only 24 contests. The sky is the limit for this Mexican slugger, so hopefully he can stay healthy.

2. Drew Rasmussen

Despite appearing in a total of 39 innings from 2023-2024, Rasmussen has been a man on a mission through his first two starts of this season. The 29-year old power arm has tossed 10 innings, giving up only one earned run, while punching out eight opponents. The efficiency and consistency that the veteran hurler has displayed so far has helped this club substantially at the back-end of their starting rotation.

The biggest bright spots of his performances so far are the one walk and zero home runs that he's given up. Those numbers are definitely a recipe for success as they have allowed him to remain in control of his game.

3. Jake Mangum

This was a clear choice for an article of this type as the recent outfield call-up has been the talk of baseball over the last week. Mangum has shown elite bat-to-ball skills to go along with great defense in his six games this year. His batting average is tops on the club as he's slashing .435/.458/.522 with four stolen bases. With the return of Richie Palacios hanging in the balance, we hope that Jake Mangum is able to remain on the roster to continue growing as a big league player.