Rays announce 2025 Most Valuable Players for each of their seven affiliates

Triple-A Durham MVP: Outfielder Tristan Peters

Peters, 25, has hit .263 (115-for-437) in 124 games with Triple-A Durham, recording 25 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 67 RBI, 60 walks, 67 runs scored and a .769 OPS. He was named the Rays Minor League Player of the Month for June after slashing .385/.486/.670 (35-for-91) with 11 doubles, five home runs, 27 RBI and a 1.156 OPS in 25 games. He reached base safely in 24 of the 25 games and hit safely in 21 of them. On June 24 vs. Memphis, he tallied a career-high 6 RBI, clubbing his second professional grand slam.

The native of Winkler, Canada had his contract selected and made his major league debut on Aug. 8 at Seattle, becoming the fourth Canadian-born player to play for the Rays and the first since Erik Bedard in 2014. He is currently ranked as the No. 28 prospect in the Rays organization by Baseball America. The outfielder was acquired from the San Francisco Giants for infielder Brett Wisely on Nov. 15, 2022.

Double-A Montgomery Co-MVP: Catcher Tatem Levins

Levins, 26, has slashed .248/.410/.391 (75-for-302) in 98 games for Double-A Montgomery with 20 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 54 RBI, 77 walks and 50 runs scored. He leads the Southern League in on-base percentage, ranks second in walks, third in OPS (.801) and eighth in slugging percentage. The backstop is the only qualified Rays full-season farmhand in 2025 to record a .400 or better on-base percentage and is pacing to become the seventh different Tampa Bay full-season minor leaguer to reach the mark while adding 20 doubles or more since 2021.

Across 37 games in May and June, Levins batted .308 (32-for-104) with eight doubles, three home runs, 19 RBI, 21 runs, a .482 on-base percentage and a .953 OPS. Among Double-A hitters with 125 plate appearances or more during that stretch, he turned in the fourth-best OPS. He was acquired from the Seattle Mariners for catcher Blake Hunt on Nov. 6, 2023.

Double-A Montgomery Co-MVP: Right-handed pitcher Ty Johnson

Johnson, 23, went 7-5 with a 2.52 ERA (107.1IP, 30ER) and a 0.93 WHIP in 25 games (19 starts) for Double-A Montgomery. Opposing hitters batted .172 (63-for-367) against the right-hander, the lowest mark among qualified Southern League (SL) pitchers. He also ranked highly in the SL in WHIP (2nd), strikeouts (T2nd, 142) and ERA (3rd). His 0.932 WHIP is the third lowest among qualified full-season minor league pitchers and is the second lowest by a full-season Rays minor leaguer over the last five seasons (2021-25), trailing only Taj Bradley (0.929) in 2021 (min. 100.0 IP).

He is currently ranked as the No. 19 prospect in the Rays organization by MLB.com and the No. 20 prospect by Baseball America. The native of Rockwall, Texas was acquired from the Chicago Cubs alongside infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel and right-handed pitcher Hunter Bigge for infielder Isaac Paredes on July 28, 2024.

Class-A Bowling Green MVP: Infielder Émilien Pitre

Pitre, 22, hit .268/.356/.393 (120-for-448) with 23 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 63 RBI, 61 runs and 14 stolen bases in 118 games for Bowling Green. He paced the South Atlantic League in hits, was second in total bases (176), third in batting average and doubles, fourth in RBI, fifth in on-base percentage, tied for fifth in extra-base hits (35) and was sixth in both slugging percentage and OPS (.749). He reached base safely in 101 of his 118 games and hit safely in 75 of them.

The native of Repentigny, Canada put together a 32-game on-base streak from April 11 to May 21, the longest at the High-A level in 2025. He was selected in the second round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Kentucky and is currently ranked as the No. 28 prospect in the Rays organization by MLB.com.

Class-A Charleston MVP: Right-handed pitcher Jose Urbina

Urbina, 19, went 7-2 with a 2.05 ERA (92.1IP, 21ER) and 96 strikeouts in 19 starts for the RiverDogs. He allowed three earned runs or fewer in all 19 starts and tallied eight quality starts. The right-hander finished the season tied for the sixth-most strikeouts in the Carolina League. Between June 1 and July 30, he went 5-0 with a 0.79 ERA (45.2IP, 4ER), a 0.94 WHIP and a .185 (29-for-157) opponent average. Among all full-season minor leaguers with 30.0 innings pitched or more during that span, his ERA was third best and was the lowest in Low-A.

The No. 12 prospect in the Rays organization (MLB.com), Urbina was promoted to Class-A Bowling Green on Sept. 6. He made his lone start with the Hot Rods the following day, going 4.0 innings with two runs allowed on four hits and two home runs with five strikeouts. He was signed as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2023.

Rookie-level FCL Rays MVP: Infielder Alberth Palma

Palma, 19, went 41-for-129 (.318) in 44 games in the Florida Complex League (FCL) with one double, four triples, 24 RBI, 27 runs, 33 walks, 15 stolen bases and a .462 on-base percentage. He led the FCL in several categories, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, triples, stolen bases and walks (T1st). He also ranked highly in RBI (2nd), runs scored (T2nd), hits (T2nd), total bases (3rd, 50) and extra-base hits (T6th, 5). He was named to the FCL’s postseason All-Star team.

The native of Barinas, Venezuela was promoted to Class-A Charleston on July 25 at the conclusion of the FCL season. Palma was signed as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2023.

Rookie-level DSL Rays MVP: Infielder Emmanuel Cedeño

Cedeño, 17, batted .304 (48-for-158) with four doubles, one triple, one home run, 23 RBI, 48 walks, 14 stolen bases and a .466 on-base percentage in 47 games in his first professional season. He reached base in 45 of 47 games, including a 22-game on-base streak to begin the season streak (June 2–July 5) and a 21-game on-base streak to close the year (July 14–Aug. 19).

A first-time DSL All-Star, he led qualified DSL Rays in walks and on-base percentage while ranking highly in games played (2nd), hits (2nd), runs (2nd, 35), stolen bases (2nd) and RBI (T3rd). He was signed as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2025.

Rookie-level DSL Tampa Bay MVP: Infielder Andreimi Antunez

Antunez, 18, slashed .369/.447/.517 (65-for-176) with nine doubles, seven triples, one home run, 43 RBI, 38 runs scored, 13 stolen bases and a .964 OPS across 49 games. Among all Dominican Summer League (DSL) players, he ranked highly in average (2nd), triples (T2nd), hits (T6th) and RBI (T8th). He produced a 22-game on-base streak from July 14 to Aug. 18, which included a 12-game hitting streak (July 15–Aug. 7). His .369 batting average was the best by a Rays farmhand in the DSL since 2015.

Antunez was selected for the AL roster at the DSL All-Star Game. He also earned DSL Player of the Week honors for Aug. 4-10 after going 11-for-21 (.524) with one double, one home run, 6 RBI, four runs scored, two stolen bases and a 1.297 OPS in five games. He was signed as an international free agent on Jan. 15, 2024.