DRB Prospect Review: #14 Osleivis Basabe

Basabe fractured his wrist in April, missing two months of the season

Over the offseason, the Draybay community takes part in an exercise in which we compile a list of 30 prospects in the Rays system based on popular vote.

Now that the 2024 season has concluded, we can look back at these rankings and see how each individual player performed.

Reminder, this is a review of the prospects ranked heading into the 2024 season. This is not an updated ranking. Draysbay will begin the voting for the 2025 community top prospects later this offseason.

We have already covered the following:

• #30. Erick Lara.
• #29. Kenny Piper
• #28. Tanner Murray
• #27. Jacob Lopez
• #26. Marcus Johnson
• #25. Cole Wilcox
• #24. Dru Baker
• #23. Trevor Martin
• #22. Joe Rock
• #21. Ian Seymour
• #20. Tre’ Morgan
• #19. Brailer Guerrero
• #18. Jose Urbina
• #17. Mason Auer
• #16. Adrian Santana
• #15. Chandler Simpson

We resume the reviews at #14.

14. Osleivis Basabe

Before the Season

23 | BT: R/R | 6’ 1” | 165

AAA | .296/.351/.426 (.777 OPS, 95 wRC+) 426 PA, 4 HR, 16 SB

MLB | .218/.277/.310 (.587 OPS, 67 wRC+) 94 PA, 1 HR, 0 SB

La Pantera Negra emerged as the answer at short stop after the loss of Taylor Walls to injury and Wander Franco to administrative leave last season. His promotion got the Rays over the line and into the playoffs but was probably sooner than warranted. He’s reliable at a difficult position and should hit for average if given a lengthier opportunity, but may not project as a regular. That might be for the best, as Basabe’s profile may be better utilized in a utility role, given the Rays depth in the infield, but he has the upside of a starter at short. With the recently acquired José Caballero on the roster, he’ll likely be heading back to Triple-A to start the season.

How it Went

Osleivis just could never get going in 2024. Entering the season, Basabe seemed primed to serve as a useful player off the bench for the Rays, but Basabe failed to make the Opening Day roster. Then, two weeks into the minor league season, Basabe suffered a fractured wrist after being hit by a pitch (notably, by former Ray, Naoyuki Uwasawa). Basabe missed two months of the season. Upon his return, Basabe hit .257/.318/.382, registering a 83 wRC+ over 267 plate appearances.

Final 2024 Statline
CPX: .270/.404/.541 | 2 HR | 2 SB | 2.1 K% | 19.1 BB% | 148 wRC+ | 47 PA
AAA: .248/.293/.336 | 5 HR | 4 SB | 18.0 K% | 4.9 BB% | 64 wRC+ | 283 PA