Fansided

One prospect each MLB team should call up right now

By Joshua Sadlock

MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 27: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts after hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during the MLB preseason game at Olympic Stadium on March 27, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 27: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays reacts after hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals during the MLB preseason game at Olympic Stadium on March 27, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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ST. PETERSBURG, FL – MAY 22: Willy Adames (1) of the Rays looks up towards the stands after striking out in his first major leage at bat during the MLB regular season game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays on May 22, 2018, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – MAY 22: Willy Adames (1) of the Rays looks up towards the stands after striking out in his first major leage at bat during the MLB regular season game between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays on May 22, 2018, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Tampa Bay Rays: Willy Adames

In spite of all of their obvious cost-saving efforts, the Tampa Bay Rays find themselves on the fringes of playoff contention. Since bottoming out at 4-13 on April 17, the team is 23-13 and has been one of the better offensive clubs in the league. The Rays are second in the AL in batting average and on-base percentage. They’ve even managed to somewhat make a three-man rotation work.

For years, the Rays farm system was heavily focused on starting pitching, but the tide has swung back towards position players. Excluding Brent Honeywell, who is out for the year with Tommy John, all 10 of their top prospects are hitters. Middle infielder Willy Adames is the best of the bunch, and has already made his MLB debut this year.

Adames has just about maxed out his development in the minor leagues. He spent all of 2017 at Triple-A and hit .277/.360/.415 with 30 doubles and 10 home runs. This year, he is hitting .306/.378/.450 with four home runs and 25 RBI in 45 games with the Durham Bulls.

The Rays called Adames up for a brief three-game stint at the end of May before optioning him back to Triple-A. He won’t be down for long. If the Rays remain in contention, he is a potential difference maker. On the flip side, if things start falling apart, Adames needs to get at-bats and prepare for next year.

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