Melton (ankle) productive after return from injury

It’s been mostly a lost year for Melton, a player the Rays were hoping would be their center fielder of the future when they gave up Brandon Lowe, Mason Montgomery and Jake Mangum to acquire he and Anderson Brito in last winter’s three-team trade with the Pirates and Astros. Melton ended up hitting .253/.346/.475 with 26 steals in 45 games for Durham in between injuries. He should get a chance to compete for a job in the spring, but considering that he’s never played more than 105 games in four full seasons since being drafted, he’s a little hard to trust at this point.

Melton suffered the injury earlier this week while rounding third base during Wednesday’s game for Triple-A Durham. The 25-year-old is viewed as Tampa Bay’s center fielder of the future after coming over in a trade with the Astros in the offseason. He has a chance to make his Rays debut at some point in the second half, especially if Cedric Mullins doesn’t get it going at the plate.

Melton took an awkward step while rounding third base and was unable to walk off the field under his own power. We know that the trainers were examining his ankle/shin area, but we have no word yet on the severity of the injury. However, it does seem like this will keep him out for a bit of time. The 25-year-old was off to a solid start with a .346 on-base percentage and 16 steals in 19 games.

The 25-year-old is slashing .238/.346/.444 in 19 games at Triple-A with one home run, a 31/12 K/BB ratio, and 16 steals. The strikeout rate is certainly too high, but Melton is getting on base a lot and taking plenty of extra bases when he does. The Rays have a crowded outfield, but Jake Fraley did leave Tuesday’s game with an injury, so there may be an opening coming. At least we know the Astros would like to have Melton as an option right now.

Williams and Melton are viewed as long-term building blocks up the middle for Tampa Bay. The pair of top prospects will open the season back in the upper minors with veterans Taylor Walls and Cedric Mullins starting at shortstop and center field, respectively. Williams is a phenomenal defender but his power/speed combo is muted somewhat by persistent contact issues that have followed him throughout his ascent. Melton came over from the Astros as part of the Brandon Lowe three-team deal in the offseason and shouldn’t have to wait too long for an everyday opportunity with the Rays.

It’s still early in spring training, so there is no real cause for concern with Simpson being sidelined. However, his main attribute is speed, so any lingering hamstring soreness would be a major wrench in his value to both the Rays and fantasy managers. The Rays also added Cedric Mullins, Jacob Melton, Justyn-Henry Malloy, and Jake Fraley this offseason, so Simpson is not guaranteed a spot in this outfield.

Yohan Ramírez put a slider on a tee for him, and Melton treated it exactly like he should have. The assumption has been that Melton is starting the season in the minors, since he’s behind Cedric Mullins on the depth chart in center, but the Rays’ situations in the corners are weak enough that Melton should be a threat for a starting spot with a strong spring. He’s the team’s second-most intriguing outfielder for fantasy purposes, and he’s probably a better overall player than Chandler Simpson.

The crown jewel of Tampa Bay’s prospect haul from the Astros as part of a three-team swap that also included the Pirates, Melton struggled in his first taste of the big leagues this past season during a brief 32-game cameo where he batted .157 (11-for-70) with 29 strikeouts. Still, the Rays clearly view the 25-year-old as their long-term answer in center field, with veteran Cedric Mullins signed to a one-year deal as a temporary bridge. Neander added that Melton is not terribly far off and will have an opportunity to compete for a spot on the Rays’ season-opening roster next spring. He boasts an enticing power-speed profile for fantasy purposes and his immediate path to playing time feels more likely in the outfield corners which are occupied by Chandler Simpson and Josh Lowe for now. The move to Tampa Bay offering a clean reset — positioning him as a potential core piece of a younger roster rather than a fringe component behind Houston’s veteran-heavy group. He checks in as a borderline top-100 dynasty outfielder with the athleticism and upside to take a meaningful leap if everything clicks in spring training.

Melton made his MLB debut and struggled to a .420 OPS over 70 at-bats, but was solid in Triple-A with a .286/.389/.556 slash over 35 games. The 2022 second-round pick should get a chance to compete for a role with Tampa Bay this spring, but fantasy managers should wait to see how things shake out before investing. There’s definitely some upside in keeper formats.

The framework of the finalized deal is the same that was reported earlier on Friday. Mike Burrows will be heading from the Pirates to the Astros, Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum and Mason Montgomery will go from the Rays to the Pirates while Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito will go from the Astros to the Rays. The Astros have been inquiring on Burrows for a while now and was an obvious target of theirs to upgrade their starting rotation. The 26-year-old right-hander posted a 3.94 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and a 97/31 K/BB ratio over 96 innings in 23 appearances (19 starts) for the Pirates in 2025.