Rays Pitching Prospects To Keep Eye on During World Baseball Classic
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The Tampa Bay Rays are going to be well represented during the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
They have some key members of their Major League roster participating in the international tournament. Star third baseman Junior Caminero will be featured on the Dominican Republic team. He was supposed to be joined by relief pitcher Edwin Uceta, but a shoulder injury knocked him out.
Team USA is going to feature two other Rays relief pitchers: Griffin Jax and Garrett Cleavinger. All three players will be departing camp in the near future to join their respective national teams for the tournament.
While those are the household names Tampa Bay fans know, there are a few other players from the organization who are partaking in the World Baseball Classic: pitching prospects Gary Gill Hill and Owen Wild.
Gary Gill Hill, Owen Wild both on Team Great Britain
Both players are on Team Great Britain, under manager Brad Marcelino. They will actually be competing against Jax and Cleavinger, with Team USA joining Team Great Britain, Mexico, Italy and Brazil in Group B.
Gill was a sixth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of John F. Kennedy Catholic Preparatory School in Somers, New York. He was the No. 94-ranked prospect by Baseball America pre-2025 and is the No. 27-ranked prospect in the organization.
Last year, he spent the entire year with High-A Bowling Green and more than held his own with a 3.82 ERA across 136.2 innings. He registered 107 strikeouts, being promoted after a solid season with Single-A Charleston in 2024.
It will be interesting to see if Gill starts the 2026 campaign at High-A or if Tampa Bay moves him along with Double-A Montgomery. 58 of his 61 appearances have been as a starting pitcher during his professional career.
Gary Gill Hill dominated High-A competition in the 2nd half of 2025:
— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) January 4, 2026
281 BF
12 GS
69.2 IP
2.84 ERA
51/12 K/BB
1.02 WHIP
2nd straight season posting a sub-4.00 ERA, GGH is one to watch as he climbs to the upper levels of MiLB in 2026. pic.twitter.com/7aW2ykn3fw
Wild was a seventh-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of Gonzaga. He announced his presence with authority right away, pitching at both Single-A Charleston and High-A Bowling Green in his first full year as a pro in 2024.
Excellent numbers were produced with a 2.82 ERA across 121.1 innings, including 151 strikeouts. The organization challenged him, promoting him to Double-A Montgomery for 2025, and his numbers dipped.
In 23 starts and 105 innings pitched, he had a 4.71 ERA and 96 strikeouts, seeing his K/9 rate drop from 11.2 to 8.2. Entering his age-23 campaign, he will assuredly be starting the year with Montgomery again.
Unlike Gill, Wild is not currently ranked amongst the top 30 prospects in the Rays organization.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. Previously, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.