Three Rays rank in Keith Law’s midseason prospect update

Keith Law has released ESPN’s midseason Top-50 prospect update, and the obvious Rays candidates are there: Brent Honeywell, Willy Adames, and 4th overall draft pick Brendan McKay.

RHP Brent Honeywell - No. 22

Not having a Rays player in the top-20 is a bit insulting, given the quality of Honeywell and Adames, but whatever. Law calls for a promotion of Honeywell to the majors, which reflects a misunderstanding of how the Rays develop pitchers, but he makes up for it by saying:

his arsenal is certainly ready and he could help the Rays in a number of different roles.

In other words, as a September call up to help with the playoff push. Got it.

Then it’s more of the same story on Honeywell:

He's known for the screwball, which he flashed Sunday in the Futures Game, but I think his changeup is his best pitch and most likely to be his primary off-speed weapon in the majors, helping him get more swings and misses on his 92-95 mph fastball too.

Is there nothing new to say about Honeywell?

SS Willy Adames - No. 25

We’ve already litigated the similarities of Amed Rosario and Willy Adames on this site.

The write up on Adames is likewise a bland take on a player far outperforming his level at a rather young age. Law is behind a paywall, but he literally says nothing of substance here, so the full quote on Adames is as follows:

Adames continues to hold his own despite always being a little young for his levels. He won't turn 22 until September but has shown solid plate discipline and a little more power this year in Triple-A. A shortstop now, it's possible he'll move to another position when he's called up now that the Rays have an elite defender at short in Adeiny Hechavarria.

The last point is a good one. A promoted Adames in 2017-2018 is an Adames at 2B. The Rays acquired a top-notch glove in Hechevarria, and one has to wonder if they’d try for a team extension as well. But that has nothing to do with prospects, so let’s move on.

LHP/1B Brendan McKay - No. 37

Somewhere in the 30-40 range feels right for McKay, or any of the first five picks in this year’s draft.

Law says “I doubt we'll see him on a mound until next year,” which is incorrect and would take very little searching on twitter to see quotes from the player himself saying the Rays already have a schedule for when he’ll pitch and hit in Hudson Valley.

Law’s take on McKay overall:

I think eventually he'll have to focus on pitching or hitting to the exclusion of the other but could see him succeeding at either role.

Well thanks for that.

If you’re a Rays fan with an ESPN Insider account, you’d want your money back after reading this.