Off The Trop

Tampa Bay Rays in the WBC: Junior Caminero (DR) .350/.409/.850/1.259, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 5 R Jonathon Aranda (MEX) .357/.438/.643/1.081, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R Griffin Jax (US) 3.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K Garrett Cleavinger (US) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K Yoendrys Gomez (VEN) 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K Gary Gill-Hill (GB) 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K Owen Wild (GB) 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Rays Opening Day Lineup: 1. Yandy Díaz DH 2. Ryan Vilade LF 3. Jonathan Aranda 1B 4. Junior Caminero 3B 5. Ben Williamson 2B 6. Jonny DeLuca RF 7. Nick Fortes C 8. Cedric Mullins CF 9. Carson Williams SS

Junior Caminero is back😈

We finally made it Rays fans‼️ Happy #OpeningDay #RaysUp #MLB

@indyraysfan These are team predictions, not league wide.

@OffTheTrop If Jr is MVP, Rass is CyYoung, and Carson Williams is ROY, they’re making the playoffs and have will have a better record than 80-82.

Opening day is finally upon us, so here’s our 2026 Rays predictions: Record: 80-82 MVP: Junior Caminero CY Young: Drew Rasmussen Best Reliever: Griffin Jax ROY: Carson Williams Breakout Player: Ben Williamson All-Stars: Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero #RaysUp #MLB

#Rays McClanahan hit by comebacker on lower back during live BP, goes down briefly, but gets up and resumes throwing with no apparent issues l.

This is an underrated move. Booser had a great spring, and he’ll definitely make an impact in the big league bullpen at some point this season.

@MLBPipeline @AlabamaBSB x.com/offthetrop/sta…

With a name like Lebron, an elite vertical is a requisite! MLB's No. 3 Draft prospect Justin Lebron shows off his hops to go along with the 1.133 OPS he entered the night with. 🎥: @AlabamaBSB

@TampaSportsAnon Thanks! Lackey is having a great season, and he’s definitely a guy to keep an eye on as we get closer to the draft.

Good thread here. The chase issue really scares me about Lebron. On the other hand, always some projection risk with HSers. Vahn Lackey is another interesting option for the Rays at 2, in my opinion. Really wish there was a plus college OF bat, à la Wyatt Langford, in the draft

7) If the draft were tomorrow I’d lean toward Grady Emerson as the pick. It’s tough to find a single flaw in his game and he should only get better as he gets older. Excited to follow both of these players the rest of the season. Thanks for reading!

6) Justin is 45/46 on SB attempts in his college career, including 21/21 this season. He was SEC All Defensive team in 2024. He’s got elite range and a great arm. His pure athleticism could make him a versatile defender at the next level.

The Rays have the second pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. Assuming Roch Cholowsky goes 1st overall, there seem to be 2 main options for the Rays at #2: Grady Emerson or Justin Lebron. A thread 🧵👇 #RaysUp #MLB

@KeskeTalksBall That’s definitely one of the reasons. They clearly wanted to go in the strike throwing direction in the pen with Kelly and Sulser over Bigge. Bigge will make an impact in the pen this year, no doubt though. Long season

@OffTheTrop I think it's because Gomez is out of options. If stuff happens, Bigge's likely the first up.

Hunter Bigge has officially not made the Opening Day roster and will start the year in AAA. Really disappointing