Willy Adames, Brent Honeywell Shine For Rays

BEST PLAYER: Several numbers stand out when defining Double-A Montgomery shortstop Willy Adames as the system’s top minor league player this season.

For one thing, he played all season at age 20. For another, he hit .274/.372/.430 in 132 games, and he ranked third in the Southern League with 31 doubles and 48 extra-base hits and first with 89 runs scored and 74 walks.

Acquired from the Tigers in the July 2014 David Price trade, Adames has showed again this season—against older and more experienced competition, no less—why he has emerged as the top prospect in the system. Team officials are impressed with his consistency and scouts by his potential to continue to develop as a hitter given plus bat speed and burgeoning power.

Adames is in line for a promotion to Triple-A Durham next season, with a late-season callup to Tampa Bay possible.

BEST PITCHER: Confidence has never been an issue for righthander Brent Honeywell, who was a 2014 supplemental second-round pick. Nor has pure stuff, as he has a strong repertoire enhanced by the novelty of what is a very effective screwball.

But there is more involved in getting on the fast track to the major leagues, and Honeywell showed the necessary maturity and ability to make adjustments this season. He advanced from high Class A Charlotte to Montgomery and emerged as the best pitcher in a system rich with arms.

Honeywell missed six weeks in May and June with arm tenderness, but he made 20 starts overall and went 7-3, 2.34 with 117 strikeouts and 25 walks in 115.1 innings. He ranked 13th in the minors in ERA and also WHIP (1.03).

KEEP AN EYE ON: The Rays weren’t exactly sure what type of player they were getting when they acquired corner outfielder Justin Williams from the Diamondbacks in the November 2014 Jeremy Hellickson trade.

He has turned out to be quite a hit.

Williams emerged as an all-around talent with power during his stint in the Australian Baseball League and carried that into the 2016 season, excelling at Charlotte and then continuing after a July 18 promotion to Montgomery. He hit .295/.318/.447 with 10 home runs and 18 doubles in 90 games this season.

A Louisiana high school product and 2013 second-round pick, Williams shows lefthanded power and athleticism, and he played most of the season at age 20.