The Tampa Bay Rays added 21 new players to the organization during the 2026 MLB Draft to upgrade the talent even more in one of the best farm systems in baseball.
One of those players was right-handed pitcher Ben Blair. He was selected in the second round, No. 49 overall, out of Liberty University. He helped his high school team, Liberty Christian Academy, to a state title as a junior and kept dominating once he reached the collegiate ranks.
That helped him move up the draft board, where the Rays snagged him with their second-round pick. The No. 49 selection carries a recommended signing bonus of $2,033,400, and it will be interesting to see how much Blair signs for.
According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, the right-hander has agreed to a contract with Tampa Bay, but no numbers on how much money he has signed for have been revealed yet.
Feb 15, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander talks with media at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
His selection is one that likely took many Rays supporters by surprise because of how focused they have been in recent drafts on selecting positional players. Selecting Blair with the 49th pick is the earliest Tampa Bay has selected a pitcher since the 2020 MLB Draft, when Nick Bitsko was picked at No. 24 overall.
Part of what makes Blair such an intriguing prospect is the command that he has of his entire arsenal. He had a minuscule 4% walk rate with Liberty, issuing only 17 free passes in 94.1 innings of work.
That repertoire is already impressive, as he will throw five different pitches at points during the game. He throws both a four-seam and a two-seam fastball and a sinker to drive up his groundball rate.
For off-speed offerings, he has a slider that is a borderline sweeper in the 83-84 mph range that he uses as a wipeout pitch to play off the fastballs that clock in at 97 mph. Blair also has a cutter he will mix in that sits in the mid-80s and is working on a changeup that has real promise.
The unorthodox mechanics that he possesses help make his offerings even more deceiving than they are. He releases the ball from a low slot, making it even more difficult for opposing batters to pick up on.
Blair isn't everyone's cup of tea, but there is value in his reliability, taking the ball every Friday and producing at a high level with a 3.53 ERA and 113 strikeouts.
The Rays reloaded this offseason, making a number of trades that netted them some high-ranking prospects. Outfielders Jacob Melton and Slater De Brun, catcher Caden Bodine and right-handed pitchers Anderson Brito and Michael Ferrett were the highest-rated acquisitions, along with the draft picks.
But only No. 2 overall pick Grady Emerson has managed to crack the top 10 out of all the prospects mentioned in this piece, including Blair.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/rays/onsi as Rays Sign One of Their Top Draft Picks To Contract .
