Minor League Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays Shortstop Prospect Carson Williams Projected to Earn Promotion in July

Carson Williams' glove may be big-league ready right now, but the Tampa Bay Rays are expected to wait another few months before they call up their top prospect.
Sam Connon|
Sarasota, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays infielder Carson Williams (80) talks with manager Kevin Cash (16) before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium.
Sarasota, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays infielder Carson Williams (80) talks with manager Kevin Cash (16) before the game against the Baltimore Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays' shortstop of the future, Carson Williams, could become their shortstop of the present sooner rather than later.

MLB Pipeline's Sam Dykstra published an article Tuesday predicting which top prospects would make their big league debuts this season. Dykstra has Williams on the books for an MLB promotion in July, once the Rays are more confident in his ability to make consistent contact against major league pitchers.

Entering the 2025 season, Williams was ranked as the No. 8 prospect in baseball, higher than any other shortstop. His defense has long been praised as big-league ready, but his bat has been less consistent.

Williams took part in Tampa Bay's major league training camp this spring, batting .281 with a .749 OPS and nine strikeouts in 12 Grapefruit League games. Through his first three contests with Triple-A Durham, Williams is batting .364 with an .864 OPS.

Across his three full minor league seasons, Williams has averaged 21 home runs, 21 doubles, eight triples, 73 RBIs, 27 stolen bases and 157 strikeouts per year.

The Rays already have a plus-defender at shortstop in Taylor Walls. It took just 29.0 innings for Walls to reach one defensive run saved, a year after he led all American League shortstops with a 14 Total Zone.

Walls is a career .188 hitter, though, boasting a far lower offensive ceiling than Williams.

Williams, who was the Rays' first-round selection in 2021, turns 22 years old in June.

Related MiLB Stories

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  • HARRINGTON PROMOTED: Thomas Harrington, who is ranked as the No. 78 prospect in baseball, is set to make his MLB debut in the Pirates' showdown with the Rays on Tuesday. CLICK HERE
  • KURTZ BLOWING UP: It didn't take long for Nick Kurtz to establish himself as a threat at the plate in Triple-A, as the Athletics' top prospect crushed a 418-foot home run on Saturday. CLICK HERE

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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