Rays Prospect Weekly: Cermak's Power Surge at High-A, Gillen Triples His Way Through Double-A
By Grace Turner ·
Rays Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Rays farm system.
Cermak's Power Is Very Real, Even If Everything Else Still Isn't
Ryan Cermak (A+, SS, Rank: 42) put up four home runs and eight RBI in 22 plate appearances at Bowling Green this week, and that line deserves to be taken seriously on its own terms before the caveats arrive. He is a 25-year-old with a 40 hit tool and a strikeout rate that has hovered near 39% both this season and over his last 30 days at High-A, which are real constraints on the profile. But the 50 raw power grade on his sheet looks conservative right now. Across all levels in 2026, Cermak has 14 home runs in just 159 plate appearances, a pace that comes with major context qualifiers given the multiple stops and injury history, but also cannot be waved away. His contact rate sits at 57.7% for the season, confirming that the bat-to-ball concerns are legitimate. The five strikeouts this week against the four home runs is the encapsulation of who he is: enormous damage when he squares it up, frequent misses when he does not.
The 60-grade arm and 55-grade speed have always given Cermak a defensive path to a roster, and the power has always flashed in exit velocity readings. What 2026 has added is a more consistent translation into game power across affiliated ball: two home runs at Low-A Charleston, three more in a brief complex stint, and nine already at High-A Bowling Green over 109 plate appearances entering this week. The walk rate has climbed from 8.9% in 2025 to 11.3% combined this season, a modest but real improvement in selectivity. None of this resolves the fundamental swing-and-miss problem that keeps his scouting projection pinned to bench outfielder, but weeks like this one show why teams keep him on the field. The power is not a mirage; it just needs to coexist with enough contact to matter over a full season.
Gillen Goes Gap-to-Gap in His Double-A Debut Month
Theo Gillen (AA, OF, Rank: 1) went 9-for-31 with two doubles, two triples, four RBI, and three walks this week at Montgomery, adding another strong line to what has already been a two-level breakout season. The triples are a signature touch for a player with a 60 speed grade and a 55 field tool; he does not just cover ground in center, he turns hits into extra bases in ways most prospects his age cannot. Over his last 30 days at Double-A, Gillen is slashing .291/.404/.442 with a 14.3% walk rate and only a 21.9% strikeout rate, which fits the profile of a hitter with genuine plate discipline rather than passive swing decisions. The 41.7% swing rate over that stretch confirms the selectivity is real.
The full 2026 picture is genuinely strong for a 20-year-old. Combined across High-A and Double-A, he is hitting .319/.428/.554 with 21 home runs, 44 stolen bases, and a 14.4% walk rate in 513 plate appearances. The 45 raw power grade on his report looks like it may need a revisit: 21 home runs across two levels at his age is not a gap-to-gap fluke. The main question in his profile is whether the contact quality holds as Double-A pitchers get more specific with spin and velocity, and whether the hit tool, graded at 50, can keep pace with a bat speed and approach combination that has so far outperformed expectations. His 75.3% contact rate over the last 30 days suggests the swing-and-miss is not running away from him. At the pace 2026 has gone, the everyday center-field projection feels less like optimism and more like the most obvious read on what he has actually done.
Quick Hits
Cooper Kinney (AA, 2B, Rank: 27) · drove in six runs on six hits including three home runs this week, continuing a strong run at Montgomery after a rough stretch at Triple-A earlier in the season. The Double-A numbers tell the real story: he is hitting .305/.373/.542 with 11 home runs and a 23.6% strikeout rate at that level, compared to a 31.7% K rate and .229 average at Durham. The last 30 days show a .289/.337/.489 line with four home runs and a 67.2% contact rate, numbers that look more like the 55 hit tool in his profile than the Triple-A version did.
Cooper Flemming (A, SS, Rank: 10) · had his best week at the plate, going 8-for-21 with a double, a homer, and five RBI while striking out just once. For a 20-year-old shortstop in his first full professional season, that barrel control is a real signal. His season contact rate of 77.8% and 17.2% strikeout rate both back up the 50 hit tool projection, and 79 RBI in 518 plate appearances at Low-A is a legitimate production number at his age.
Trevor Harrison (A+, RHP, Rank: 37) · turned in five sharp innings against the week's opposition: 2 hits, 1 earned run, no walks, and 9 strikeouts on 56 pitches, 36 of which found the strike zone. He also generated 19 swinging misses, an exceptional whiff total that fits his 30% season-long whiff rate. The ERA sits at 4.98 through 97.2 innings at High-A, a number dragged up by homer trouble (21 allowed), but the strikeout rate of 29.3% and the whiff output point to a fastball-slider combo that misses bats consistently enough to support the back-end starter projection.
Taitn Gray (A, 1B, Rank: 9) · went 4-for-16 with a homer and four RBI in 16 plate appearances, productive for a 19-year-old switch hitter at Low-A Charleston. His season line of .297/.388/.463 with eight home runs and a 12.6% walk rate in 310 plate appearances is what you want to see from a plus-raw-power bat at that age and level. The last 30 days are even better: a .338/.396/.500 clip with a 75.9% contact rate suggests his approach is trending the right direction heading into September.
Santiago Suarez (AA, RHP, Rank: 12) · allowed one earned run over 5.1 innings on three hits, walking two and striking out three. The strikeout total is the one note worth watching: his 13.9% K rate over the last 30 days at Double-A is well below his career norms, suggesting the changeup he was already graded below average on has not improved enough to keep pace with his elite command. The 70-grade command and low walk rate remain the profile's anchor, and a 3.95 ERA over his last five starts is not a crisis, but the whiff generation has been thin enough to raise the question of whether more advanced hitters are sitting on the fastball-cutter combination.
Brody Hopkins (AAA, RHP, Rank: 3) · pitched three scoreless innings with six strikeouts, one walk, and three hits allowed, generating 13 swinging misses on 57 pitches. The season ERA at Durham is 5.28 in 92 innings, but September Hopkins has looked different: over his last seven appearances he owns a 3.86 ERA with a 38.7% strikeout rate and a 53.6% whiff rate. The command grade sits at 40 and the walk total for the year (91) is the loudest number on the page, but the last 30 days show what the stuff looks like when the release syncs up.
Ty Johnson (MLB, RHP, Rank: 17) · had his contract selected by Tampa Bay on September 5, a September roster addition that reflects a productive Triple-A season: a 3.03 ERA across 62.1 innings at Durham with 84 strikeouts against 25 walks. The call-up is a reward for consistency in a Durham bullpen that has leaned on him heavily in 2026.
Jadher Areinamo (AAA, 2B, Rank: 21) · returned from the injured list this week after missing time since late July, going 3-for-10 in two games at Montgomery before being assigned to Durham. The promotion came quickly; his first Triple-A look was 0-for-4 in a single game, a tiny sample that means very little. His Double-A season line of .257/.302/.443 with 13 home runs in 303 plate appearances gives him something to build on, though the .302 on-base percentage suggests the approach has room to sharpen at the next level.
Jacob Melton (AAA, LF, Rank: 8) · went 3-for-22 with a homer and two RBI this week, striking out nine times in 22 plate appearances. The rough week fits a rough month: over his last 30 days at Durham he is hitting .129 with a 44.1% strikeout rate in 34 plate appearances. The full Triple-A season shows a more recognizable version of his profile at .253/.348/.481 with seven home runs and a 12.1% walk rate, and the 60 speed and athleticism are not going anywhere. August has simply been difficult, and the swing-and-miss that was always a question mark against advanced velocity has been much louder than the rest of the profile lately.
Grady Emerson (A, SS, Rank: 2) · went 4-for-22 with two RBI and no extra-base hits this week at Charleston, his least productive stretch since arriving at Low-A. He is still working through an early professional adjustment: his full season line sits at .191/.291/.234 in 55 plate appearances, well below what the 70 hit tool projection suggests is coming. He is 18 years old and in his first affiliated season, so the sample is small and the scouting grade remains the most informative data point right now. The walk rate of 12.7% and 73.6% contact rate are real positives buried in a tough month of numbers.