Best Rays affiliates: Appalachian League

Prospects are about the future, but I thought I’d take a look back at the past. I looked at every domestic Rays affiliate on Baseball Reference and totaled up the major league wins above replacement (prior to the 2020 season) to try and determine the best affiliates in franchise history. I did my best to filter out rehab appearances and zeroed out negative-WAR players since reaching the majors shouldn’t count against them.

1999 Princeton Devil Rays — 72.1 WAR (eight major leaguers)

OF Carl Crawford (39.1)

OF Josh Hamilton (28.2)

RHP Jose Veras (3.8)

RHP Juan Salas (.4)

RHP Doug Waechter (.4)

RHP Brian Stokes (.2)

IF Yurendell de Caster (0)

RHP Seth McClung (0)

In 2009, Josh Hamilton started the…