Rays' Top Prospect Faces Pivotal Year Following Struggles Last Season

Will a top prospect for the Tampa Bay Rays be ready to start in 2026?

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 have been a very busy team this winter, and they will be hoping to snap a two-year playoff drought. In order to accomplish that, they will need some key players to step up. 

Despite new ownership coming in, the Rays are not expected to really start to increase payroll until they get their new stadium. If that is going to be the case, it will be business as usual for Tampa Bay. This winter, they operated like they normally do, with some savvy moves to help improve depth while looking toward the future. 

With the American League East being loaded, the Rays might have a hard time keeping up. From a star power standpoint, while Junior Caminero is emerging as one of the best players in baseball, there is a lot of talent around him in the division. 

While Caminero was able to have his breakout year in 2025, Tampa Bay will be hoping that another one of their young players are able to follow in his footsteps in 2026. Currently, they have one prospect who figures to have the potential to make a similar positive impact.

Adam Berry of MLB recently wrote about the Rays’ top prospect, Carson Williams, being a player with something to prove. 

Make or Break Year for Williams?

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Carson Williams | Dave Nelson-Imagn Images

The top prospect for the Rays is going to have a lot of eyes on him this spring. The talented young slugger got a chance in the majors at the end of the season in 2025, but the results weren’t good. Williams certainly didn’t hit the ground running, but getting some experience could be valuable. 

As the top prospect at a position of need for the team, Tampa Bay will certainly be hoping that he can have a breakout year. Currently, Taylor Walls is going to be the main competition for the job at shortstop. Walls is an elite defender but brings virtually nothing to the plate offensively. 

Williams could have the inside track to win the job with a good spring training at the plate. The talented prospect has some good power and could help improve an offense that might be lacking a bit in that department. 

Even though he is still very young, it does feel like a bit of a make-or-break year for Williams in 2026. The opportunity is there for him to be the starter, but he is going to have to prove that he is ready for it.