DRB Prospect Review: #4 Xavier Isaac
Isaac enjoyed a tremendous season before stalling in Double-A
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
- #14. Osleivis Basabe
- #13. Mason Montgomery
- #12. Austin Shenton
- #11. Colton Ledbetter
- #10. Santiago Suarez
- #9. Dominic Keegan
- #8. Jonny DeLuca
- #7. Yoniel Curet
- #6. Brayden Taylor
- #5. Curtis Mead
We resume the reviews at #4.
4. Xavier Isaac
Before the Season
20 | BT: L/L | 6’ 4” | 240
A-A+ | .285/.395/.521 (.916 OPS, 138 wRC+ in A) 433 PA, 19 HR, 12 SB
The Rays surprised many when they drafted X-man, but now it’s Isaac who is surprising the baseball world. High school first basemen rarely go in the first round like Isaac did in 2022, and even more rarely make the jump into Top 100 lists, but here we are. In his limited experience, Isaac is showing to have a major league projection in hitting and fielding, and has plenty of power developing. MLB Pipeline has Isaac ranked the top first base prospect in baseball.
How it Went
Since being drafted, Xavier Isaac has transformed himself from a powerful first base prospect into a possible outfielder with above average speed and stolen base capabilities. He showed off those skills as he pummeled High-A pitching throughout the first half of the year. Among players with at least 300 PA in High-A, Isaac had the highest SLG% and 3rd highest wRC+. Isaac would be rewarded with a spot on the Futures Game roster and a promotion to Double-A in July. However, in Montgomery, the holes in Isaac’s game became apparent, most noticeably a hole in his swing that led to an inflated whiff% and high K%. Isaac will only be 21-years old for the 2025 season, where he’ll likely spend the better part of the year in Double-A.
Final 2024 Statline:
A+: .287/.381/.535 | 15 HR | 14 SB | 30.1 K% | 12.3 BB% | 157 wRC+ | 302 PA
AA: .211/.346/.349 | 3 HR | 1 SB | 40.6 K% | 15.8 BB% | 113 wRC+ | 133 PA