Vidal Brujan

Brujan played six different spots for the Rays over his 52 played at the big league level, which in itself points to the issue with his future. The club is not certain Brujan has any one home defensively, but they like the versatility in a pinch. He has a track record of hitting throughout the minor leagues as well as flashing his speed on the bases, but 2022 was a struggle for him as he was caught in 18 of his 49 attempts between Triple-A and the majors. The minor league version of Brujan has been a high-contact hitter who has accepted his walks and sprayed the ball to all fields while the major league version has been mostly overmatched by velocity and has seen a steady diet of it. 2023 does not appear to offer him a clear path to a starting position, but he is out of options so he is a cinch to make the roster assuming he is not dealt over the winter because the roster currently shows six different hitters without options on the 26-man roster which is an unusual amount of inflexibility for the Rays.

Brujan has a perplexing combination of rare stolen-base upside and no clear path to regular playing time. He has been at least 10 percent better than league average at every minor-league stop where he has played in double-digit games. However, his 111 wRC+ at Triple-A was his worst such mark to date, the product of a .262/.345/.440 slash line that came with 12 home runs, an 11.1 BB% and a 15.4 K%. The most relevant number was 44 stolen bases on 52 attempts in 103 games. He clearly worked on getting more loft in his swing at the alternate training site, as his 41.4 GB% was easily the lowest mark of his career. Even so, his 25.6 Hard% was mediocre, and the switch-hitting utility man simply doesn't have the juice to be more than 10-15 homer threat. This puts a cap on his real-life upside, which means the Rays don't have much incentive to shoehorn him into the lineup if he is not finding other ways to be productive. He can play anywhere on the diamond, but he's not good enough anywhere to unseat any of the Rays' regulars, and he's a notably worse defensive infielder than Taylor Walls and a notably worse defensive outfielder than Josh Lowe -- two unproven players who will also be trying to earn playing time in 2022. A trade to a second-division team is possible, and it would immediately send his rotisserie-league stock soaring, but barring that, it seems unlikely that he will play enough to be more than a one-category contributor.

Almost all Rays prospects would be more appealing in fantasy if they were on another team. That sentiment applies to Brujan, a middle-of-the-diamond speedster with modest pop and good bat-to-ball skill. He spent the summer at the alternate training site and joined Wander Franco on the team's postseason taxi squad. Brujan isn't shy about putting his elite speed to use on the bases, which is the main reason he has been tantalizing in dynasty leagues for a few years. However, even as a switch hitter, the bar to clear to be an everyday player in Tampa Bay is extremely high. He would need to be a high AVG, high OBP hitter to get regular work, given his below-average power. He's not as slappy as Nick Madrigal, especially from the left side, but he's unlikely to ever be a 20-homer guy. Second base and center field are his best positions, and he could be eased in this summer in a part-time role.

A 5-foot-9 switch-hitter, Brujan's fantasy value is tied to him becoming a leadoff hitter who steals 30-plus bases. He is a 70-grade runner and stole 52 bases with a 74.3% success rate in 121 games at High-A, Double-A and the Arizona Fall League after stealing 55 at the exact same success rate in 2018. He is not a power hitter but still tied for the AFL lead with 15 walks in 22 games, which is encouraging after his BB% dipped below 11% at High-A and Double-A (8.6%) for the first time since rookie ball. Even with the defensive versatility to play second base, shortstop and center field, Brujan will need to be an above-average hitter to be an everyday player for the Rays, and there is still work to do in that regard. He upped his LD% from 13.8% at High-A to 23.1% at Double-A, but the trade-off was that his Oppo% dipped from 35.1% to 28.6%. The Rays have excellent depth and won't rush him to the majors.

Brujan shed his sleeper tag by stealing 55 bases (74.3% success rate) and hitting .320/.403/.459 in his age-20 season. His 68:63 K:BB is a product of his tiny strike zone (he is 5-foot-9) and excellent ability to make contact. Brujan is actually pretty aggressive at the plate, he just rarely strikes out and his 70-grade speed allows him to leg out infield hits. His HR/FB spiked from 5.8% at Low-A to 16.7% at High-A, and his groundball rate was over 50% at both stops, so his .235 ISO with Bowling Green oversells things. A switch hitter, Brujan hit all nine of his home runs and slugged .516 from the left side, while hitting just six extra-base hits (in 162 PA) against left-handed pitching. He is a twitchy athlete and quality defender, though there will be stiff internal competition at the keystone in the coming years. Only 15 players stole 25-plus bases in the majors last year. Brujan will join that club if he earns an everyday role in a couple years.

Brujan was the sixth best hitter in the New York-Penn League last season (141 wRC+) and also finished first in BB/K (0.94) and fourth in steals (16) while being the fifth youngest hitter in the league. He checks an awful lot of boxes dynasty league owners look for, but the fact that he measures in at 5-foot-9, 155 pounds lessens the appeal considerably. That's not to say he can't be a quality everyday player in four or five years, and he might even hit enough to profile atop a big-league lineup. It's just hard to project much power coming for the diminutive second baseman, and in today's game, power is expected of those who man the keystone. He has a quick bat, so he could pull 8-to-12 balls out per year. Burjan is also a plus runner, so he could provide some 10-20 seasons. Given his profile, however, he will likely either hit first, eighth or ninth, so he won't be much of a run producer.