Tampa Bay Rays Prospects Brayden Taylor, Bob Seymour Show Pop in Spring Training

Bob Seymour laced a ground-rule double to left, then advanced to third on a deep fly ball from Brayden Taylor, very nearly leading the Tampa Bay Rays to a comeback win.

Dunedin, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays helmet and bat lay on the field before the game Toronto Blue Jays at TD Ballpark. / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

BRADENTON, Fla. — With the game on the line, the Tampa Bay Rays left their fate up to some young sluggers.

Bob Seymour, who struck out in his first plate appearance Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, hit a ground-rule double to left in the top of the ninth inning. That put the tying run in scoring position with only one out.

While Brayden Taylor was unable to bring Seymour home, he at least advanced the runner to third on a towering fly ball to the warning track.

The Rays' comeback attempt ended there, as Tristan Peters grounded out to end the Grapefruit League contest, but manager Kevin Cash still liked what he saw. The skipper seconded the scouting report he got from minor league hitting coordinator Will Bradley, praising Seymour's power at the plate.

"It's power to all fields – big power," Cash said. "What he did in Durham – the 20-something home runs – was really encouraging."

MLB Pipeline did not rank Seymour as one of Tampa Bay's top 30 prospects at the end of 2024.

Seymour split 2024 between Double-A and Triple-A, batting .281 with 28 home runs, 24 doubles, 95 RBIs and an .874 OPS on the whole. The 26-year-old was the Rays' 13th round pick out of Wake Forest in the 2021 MLB Draft.

As for Taylor, he came in at No. 67 on MLB Pipeline's preseason top 100 – third-highest among players in the Rays' organization. The 22-year-old is ranked as the No. 4 third base prospect in baseball.

All five of Taylor's tools have been graded at 50 or above, making him a dynamic player who Cash is excited to see more out of.

"Brayden Taylor, look at him as just a very complete player, play all over the infield, gives you good at-bats," Cash said. "And that was a really pretty swing he put on that last fly out."

Taylor, who went to Tampa Bay in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, is batting .249 with 25 home runs, 31 doubles, 11 triples, 77 RBI and 40 stolen bases and an .861 OPS just 139 games into his minor league career.

Seymour is 2-for-8 with a walk and an RBI so far in spring training. Taylor is 0-for-6 with a walk and an RBI.

The pair of left-handed non-roster invites aren't expected to make the Opening Day roster, but they still have plenty of time to lay the groundwork for their impending MLB debuts at camp.

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