Recently Acquired Prospect Will Be Player to Watch for Rays During Spring Training

Which player from the Tampa Bay Rays will a player to watch this spring?

Aug 16, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; A Tampa Bay Rays helmet sits in the dugout before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

With pitchers and catchers starting to report and spring training kicking into gear, the Tampa Bay Rays will be hopeful for a strong season in 2026. 

For the last two years, the Rays have missed the playoffs following a consistent streak of being a contender. As a low-payroll team, it is undoubtedly very challenging to keep up in the American League East with some of the biggest spenders in all of baseball. 

Last year, the division sent three teams to the playoffs, and the Toronto Blue Jays were nearly able to win the World Series. This campaign, the division is once again going to be strong, and Tampa Bay will hope that they have enough firepower to keep up. 

On paper, the Rays do have a true star emerging in Junior Caminero, and they will be relying heavily on him offensively. Furthermore, the return of Shane McClanahan could provide a massive boost for the rotation if he is able to stay healthy. However, this is a team with a lot of young talent, and what they can provide is going to be key. 

Alden Gonzalez of ESPN recently wrote about the player on the Rays during spring training, who was the newly acquired outfielder Jacob Melton. 

Can Melton Be a Starter on Opening Day?

Houston Astros center fielder Jacob Melton | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Coming into the winter, a top desire of Tampa Bay was to improve an outfield that was one of the worst in the league offensively in 2025. They let go of numerous players and were fairly aggressive by their standards in terms of bringing new players in. 

In free agency, the team most notably added Cedric Mullins and Jake Fraley to help with that. However, in a three-team trade that sent Brandon Lowe to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Rays received Melton from the Houston Astros. 

As one of the top prospects in the system for the Astros, Melton will be coming to Tampa Bay and has instantly improved their farm system. However, he did get to see some time in the majors in 2025, and he is a player to keep an eye on this spring. 

Even though Tampa Bay made some changes and upgrades to their outfield, a young prospect like Melton can undoubtedly win a starting spot if he performs well this spring. The Rays really aren’t locked in to anyone in their outfield like they are with Melton, and the team would love to see him succeed and hit the ground running. Overall, it definitely feels like the talented prospect has a chance to make the team.