The Tampa Bay Rays are not exactly known as a marquee MLB franchise, but yet, they always seem to be in contention in the rugged AL East every season.

Terrific scouting, elite player development and outstanding coaching are the reasons for the Rays’ improbable success, and we may be seeing it yet again this spring with a certain Tampa Bay slugger by the name of Curtis Mead.

Mead certainly wasn’t on anyone’s radar entering spring training, as he was coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he slashed .238/.282/.287 with one home run and seven RBI over 132 plate appearances. Not exactly stellar.

However, the 24-year-old has long been considered a top prospect, so there is still plenty of hope for him moving forward.

Well, the second baseman may be coming into his own this month, as he has gone a blistering 16-for-23 with a 1.611 OPS thus far in Tampa Bay’s exhibition games.

That is absolutely mind-boggling regardless of whether or not the games actually mean anything. It also could represent a huge confidence builder for Mead heading into the regular season, and the Rays need all of the offensive help they can get.

The Australian native initially signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2018, but was eventually traded to Tampa Bay in November 2019.

Mead has since developed into a big-time hitter in the Rays’ farm system, boasting a lifetime minor-league slash line of .298/.372/.505 with 54 homers across 1,672 trips to the dish.

Last year at Triple-A Durham, he slashed .289/.359/.481 with 13 long balls.

Needless to say, Mead is making a great case to get plenty of at bats in Tampa this season.

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