2016 Draft Report Card: Tampa Bay Rays

BEST PURE HITTER: The Rays feel that 3B Josh Lowe (1) has a chance to develop into a strong hitter as he matures, given his strike zone awareness and the looseness of his swing, though he will have to make more consistent contact. OF Ryan Boldt (2) has a steady offensive track record, and OF Jake Fraley (3) has shown the ability to make contact despite moving parts in his swing.

BEST POWER: Lowe shows plus raw power, with fast hands and long arms that allow him to generate exceptional torque when he makes contact. He has the ability to drive the ball over the fence or hit hard line drives from gap to gap. His older brother, 1B Nathan Lowe (12) is strong-bodied and can also show impressive power.

FASTEST RUNNER: Fraley runs very well, both on the basepaths and in the outfield. He can reach first in 4.1 seconds and he recognizes opportunities to steal bases and capitalizes on them. Lowe is also a plus runner.

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER: Fraley’s defensive instincts and ability to close gaps give him a chance to be a plus defender in center field. SS Kevin Santiago (20) stands out for his defensive actions at shortstop.

BEST ATHLETE: Lowe is high-waisted with bat speed, arm strength, power and speed. Fraley is also quick-twitch. Boldt is strong and fast as well.

BEST FASTBALL: RHP Austin Franklin (4) can reach 95 with his heater. RHP J.D. Busfield (7) has reached as high as 96, but pitches lower than that and has excellent sink and downhill angle to make the pitch effective. RHP Peter Bayer (9) has fastball life and gets lots of swings and misses at 91-94. RHP Matt Vogel (25) can reach 95 as well.

BEST SECONDARY PITCH: Franklin’s curveball has deep vertical snap, and it showed improved power during his debut, when he ran it up to the upper 70s. RHP Zach Trageton (6) and LHP Kenny Rosenberg (8) both earn praise for their changeups.

BEST PRO DEBUT: Bayer’s performance in the short-season Appalachian League was outstanding; he struck out 45 and walked just three batters in 32 innings. Bayer allowed 18 hits and three earned runs. Also in Princeton, RHP Brian McAfee (38) had an ERA under 2.00 and struck out 12 batters per walk. RHP Joe Serrapica didn’t allow a single run in 22 innings out of the bullpen for Hudson Valley.

MOST INTRIGUING BACKGROUND: OF Isaac Benard (23) is the son of former major leaguer Marvin Benard.

CLOSEST TO THE MAJORS: The Rays don’t draft with major league proximity in mind, and they tend to take a slow-and-steady approach to development. Fraley’s advanced defensive package would make him the closest to ready on paper.

BEST LATE-ROUND PICK: Santiago’s impressive defense stick out from the group. The Rays like the offensive potential of Nathan Lowe, 2B Miles Mastrobuoni (14) and 3B Jim Haley (19)

THE ONE WHO GOT AWAY: LHP Zack Thompson (11) has athleticism, arm strength and the ability to spin his breaking ball. He could develop into a very good player at Kentucky.