DRaysBay works best as a place for community and conversation. Accordingly, in the lead up to the new season, we are posting “Daily Questions” in the month of February. I look forward to seeing you in the comment section!
Every year we see a role player make the leap into a star.
In 2025 that was obviously Junior Caminero, who launched himself into the spotlight, and in one short year has become a face of the franchise. His 4.6 WAR exceeded expectations for a 21-year old, offering the Rays a performance they had not seen since we were surprised by the emergence of Isaac Paredes in 2022, in his age 23 season.
Last year were were perhaps even more pleasantly surprised by Jonathan Aranda establishing himself as a full time first baseman, meeting the needs of the team despite only occasionally playing the position in the minors (108 games in five minor league seasons).
Can Chandler Simpson make the Aranda leap? Can i top prospect like Williams pull a Caminero? Can the recently acquired Williamson do what Paredes did before him?
