The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly calling up top prospect Carson Williams.
Williams has plus power and is a phenomenal defender at shortstop. The 22-year old has routinely been placed near the top of the Rays system in most prospect rankings and had a breakout campaign in 2024 that led to him being listed as the 10th best prospect in the game by Baseball America.
It is not known whose place on the active roster that Williams will be taking. The Rays currently have Tristan Gray, Brandon Lowe, and Ha-Seong Kim as their lone middle infielders on the active roster. Kim was a late scratch from Wednesday’s game as he was dealing with a back issue. Kevin Cash said that Kim will be evaluated on Thursday (today) morning. The Rays are also without Taylor Walls as he was placed on the Injured List earlier this month.
Originally selected by the Rays as the 28th overall pick of the 2021 draft, Williams will join fellow 2021 draft picks, Bob Seymour (13th round) and Mason Montgomery (6th round) on the active roster; Kyle Manzardo (2nd round) is the only other Rays draft pick from 2021 to have played in the big leagues.
Williams endured a slow start in 2025 after moving to Triple-A, but has since overcome that and is having a solid year. Prior to his promotion, Williams was hitting .213/.318/.447 with 23 HR and 22 SB over 451 plate appearances. The Rays have had some impressive prospects play for the Triple-A Durham Bulls, but Williams was only the 4th player in Bulls history (first since 1998) to have a 20-20 season.
The biggest detriment to Williams’ game is his proneness to striking out, which he has done at a 34.1% clip this season. Regardless, Williams has three consecutive 20-20 seasons in the minor leagues and fell 1 HR shy of a 4th straight.
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