Newly Acquired Prospect Will Be Player to Watch for Rays This Spring

Which player for the Tampa Bay Rays might be able to earn a starting spot?

Aug 17, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash (16) looks on against the San Francisco Giants during the seventh inning at Oracle Park. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays are continuing to proceed through the offseason and have now had a little bit of a lull after a busy start to the winter. 

Coming into the offseason, the Rays figured to be a team that was going to be pretty active, and they haven’t disappointed. Early on, the team was aggressive in free agency, adding a couple of veterans to fill some needs. 

However, even though they made a couple of signings that indicated they were trying to improve for 2026, they then went and traded Shane Baz and Brandon Lowe in two separate deals. While dealing these two players weakened them as of now, they got a lot of talented young players in return. Furthermore, there is also a lot of offseason still to go that their production can be replaced. While most of the talent that they acquired won’t be helping in 2026, one player who could be an option to help soon is outfielder Jacob Melton. 

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently wrote about what the Opening Day lineup would look like for the Rays. Even though he didn’t have the newly acquired Jacob Melton in the projected lineup, he was named a player to watch this spring.

Melton a Player to Watch

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Of all of the young prospects that Tampa Bay was able to acquire in the two trades, Melton is currently ranked as the highest and already has some experience in the majors. At the time of the trade, he was the number two-ranked prospect in the Houston Astros’ system, and he’s got a significant upside. 

Unfortunately, despite a really strong showing in the minors to earn a spot on the Astros, he didn’t hit the ground running with Houston. In 2025, he slashed .157/.234/.186 in 32 games played. While he might not have got off to the start that he would have liked, he did gain some valuable experience. 

Currently, the outfield situation is a bit unclear for the Rays, but they have a lot of options. With a couple of veterans coming in in free agency, both Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley figure to get a good amount of playing time. Furthermore, Chandler Simpson and Josh Lowe will be in the mix as well. While a good spring training could change things, Melton starting in the minors might be the best course of action unless he forces his way into a spot.