Rays' Top 100 Prospect Has Potential To Be Impact Player in 2026

Which prospect from the Tampa Bay Rays could be an impact pitcher in 2026?

Sep 26, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) in the dugout during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays have had a very busy offseason, and the team will be hoping to contend in 2026. 

As expected, the Rays were a very busy team this winter, making a plethora of moves with both improving for the short-term and the long-term in mind. Tampa Bay has always done a good job of finding balance, but this is a team that has now missed the playoffs the last two years, and the farm system has also started to slip a bit. 

With the trades that sent Brandon Lowe and Shane Baz out of town, the Rays were able to restock the system a bit. However, there is some concern that the unit lacks the high-end talent that a team with a low payroll needs. 

Even though the farm system hasn’t received a ton of love in rankings coming into the campaign, they do have some talent and some nice depth. While high-end elite talent is nice, depth is important as well. Recently, one of their players received some nice recognition with a Top 100 ranking. 

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN recently ranked the Top 100 prospects in baseball, and Rays’ starter Brody Hopkins came in ranked a very strong 86th. 

Hopkins Has Excellent Potential 

Seattle Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The talented young pitcher was one of the prizes in the trade that sent Randy Arozarena to the Seattle Mariners a couple of years ago. Now, Tampa Bay might soon be getting to reap the benefits of that deal with the right-hander likely to push for a spot in the rotation in the near future. 

In Double-A last year, the 24-year-old was able to total a 2.72 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 116 innings pitched. It was an impressive campaign for the young prospect, but there is still some work to be done. While he has excellent stuff and can make hitters swing and miss, control is a bit of an issue for him. Last season, while striking out an impressive number of hitters, he also walked 60 batters, which is far too many. 

That will undoubtedly be something that he needs to work on in the minors to start the season and fixing that will help make the transition to the majors much easier. With some question marks in the rotation at the back-end, there certainly appears to be a spot for a young pitcher like Hopkins to make an impact. While he might need some more time in the minors to begin the year, a debut in 2026 does seem likely.