Rays Believe Xavier Isaac Is Just Scratching Surface Of Potential
Many in the industry expressed surprise and skepticism when the Rays drafted high school first baseman Xavier Isaac 29th overall in 2022.
Because of injuries, Isaac had not played much on the showcase circuit the previous summer. He also raised concern based on his 6-foot-3, 240-pound frame and limited defensive upside.
But it didn’t take long for the Rays to come out looking good.
The 20-year-old Isaac turned in an impressive full-season debut at Low-A Charleston and High-A Bowling Green, hitting .285/.395/.521 with 19 home runs in 102 games. He drew 64 walks against 92 strikeouts.
Now the major question facing Isaac is how quickly he could reach the major leagues.
What is clear is that the time and effort put in by the Rays to learn more about Isaac at his North Carolina high school has paid off. That starts with area scouts and extends to crosscheckers, scouting supervisors and, ultimately, the front office for approving the $2,548,900 bonus.
“Our work on Xavier is a great example of a lot of different perspectives within a process playing a role,” Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said.
“There being trust in the people who work in our amateur space—and the great work was done among our staff—and a belief in the talent was established that was only supported further, upon us getting to know X and his family better.”
And even more so when they saw the commitment Isaac made, including to his body conditioning, to take full advantage of the opportunity.
“It’s nice to see him go out and perform at the level he has to date,” Neander said. “He is someone we believe is just scratching the surface of his potential, and he’d say the same thing.”
RAYS CHATTER
— The Rays have a potential future infield ranked in the Top 100 Prospects: third baseman Junior Caminero, shortstop Carson Williams and first baseman Xavier Isaac are complemented by infielders Curtis Mead and Brayden Taylor, whose final positions are to be determined.
— The Rays promoted Kevin Ibach to assistant GM, joining Carlos Rodriguez, Chanda Lawdermilk and Will Cousins in what, at least for now, will be shared responsibilities following the November departure of former GM Peter Bendix, who took over as head of baseball operations for the Marlins.
— Former big league outfielder Skeeter Barnes retired after spending 21 years as a minor league coach and instructor for the Rays. He worked, as he liked to say, “in the salt mines.”
