Baseball America listed Carson Williams as the game’s 11th best prospect, so the Tampa Bay Rays already knew they had a unique player. Earlier this year
This week, the newspaper went one step further in its laudatory assessment of Williams by calling him baseball’s top shortstop prospect.
In the 2021 MLB Draft, Williams, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound San Diego native, was selected by the Rays with the 28th overall choice, coming out of Torrey Pines High School.
This is just the most recent honor for Williams, who was ranked as the top defensive prospect available in an MLB Pipeline survey of league executives and scouts.
Baseball America selected 21-year-old Williams as the best shortstop, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Jordan Lawlaw, the Boston Red Sox’s Marcelo Mayer, the Seattle Mariners’ Colt Emerson, and the Milwaukee Brewers’ Jesus Made.
Additionally, the publication praised Williams.
Williams has a reputation as a defensive whiz for a long time. In the infamously pitcher-friendly Southern League, he had a huge season in 2024 and made his debut in the batter’s box, according to Baseball America. “He was one of just eight minor league shortstops to reach the 20-homer plateau and was the only one of the group to swipe 30 or more bags.”
Non-roster invitation to the Rays’ spring training on January 30.
In 2024, Williams hit.256 with 20 home runs and 69 RBIs in 115 games with Double-A Montgomery. 33 bases were stolen by him.
With Wander Franco, whose baseball career has been hampered by legal troubles in his native Dominican Republic, the Rays believed they had their long-term solution at shortstop. They might now get a second chance with Williams.