Floor vs. Ceiling: Navigating the Battle for Shortstop

The Rays are looking for more productivity out of their shortstop position, as last season they accumulated just 1.2 fWAR (27th) and ranked the same in wRC+. They’ll be searching for that productivity boost among three candidates: recently extended Taylor Walls, top prospect and former first-round pick Carson Williams, and newly acquired Ben Williamson.

Can this group return the Rays’ shortstop position to where it was just two years ago, when it ranked 3rd in fWAR?

Taylor Walls
After three straight seasons shortened by injury, Walls enters his sixth season with the Rays and is poised to compete for the primary shortstop job. Following back-to-back tougher seasons at the plate, Walls is looking to bounce back to his 2023 form, when he posted a career-high 80 wRC+.

Rays fans are quite familiar with Walls’ game, as not much has changed over the course of his five-year Major League career. It might not be the prettiest way to generate value, but Walls remains one of the top defensive players in the sport, accumulating 52 DRS at shortstop for his career. Another consistent source of value has been his baserunning. He has graded positively on the basepaths every season and has logged four consecutive double-digit stolen-base campaigns.

Walls remains a unique player: on one hand, the plate production is extremely poor, but on the other, the defense and baserunning are superb and nearly irreplaceable. He serves as a strong in-house floor-setting option, but for a Rays team that appears on the outside looking in, there is moderate risk in settling for Walls as the everyday answer.

Carson Williams
Williams looks to get back on track after what was by far the worst professional season of his young career. He posted career-worst marks in strikeout rate (34.1%) and wRC+ (98) across 451 plate appearances with Durham. Even after the challenging 2025 campaign, Williams still ranks as Tampa Bay’s fifth-best prospect and 85th overall according to Baseball America.

Williams joined the Rays late in the 2025 season for a cup of coffee and showed mixed results. He struck out at the fourth-highest clip among hitters with at least 100 plate appearances and landed in approximately the fifth percentile in zone contact rate. Even with the poor contact metrics, Williams still flashed his plus power, barreling the ball at a 9% clip (50th percentile). Defensively, he accumulated 0 DRS across 255.2 innings at shortstop, though most evaluators remain bullish on his glove, with grades ranging from 60 to 70 on the 20–80 scale.

If Williams taps into his lofty defensive ceiling, there is plenty to dream on from a productivity standpoint next season. While the bat may continue to lag from a contact perspective, the raw power could be enough to keep him firmly in the mix for the Opening Day shortstop role.

Ben Williamson
The newest Ray marks the fourth 2023 Mariners draftee Tampa Bay has acquired and will look to factor into the infield group in some capacity. Erik Neander expressed confidence in Williamson’s defensive actions, suggesting they should translate to both second base and shortstop.

Across Triple-A and the majors, Williamson spent all but one game at third base last season and finished with the sixth-most DRS (+8) among all third basemen.

His bat admittedly isn’t too exciting on the surface, as he posted just a 76 wRC+ in his debut season along with underwhelming batted-ball metrics (3.3% barrel rate, roughly 10th percentile). There are, however, some skills to get excited about. Williamson puts the bat on the ball at an elite rate (90.7% Z-Contact%, approximately 85th percentile) and has posted double-digit walk rates in each of his last two minor league seasons.

The unfamiliarity at shortstop — just 14 professional games logged at the position — creates some risk in handing Williamson the reins. Still, if his defensive actions translate from third base, he would be a quality candidate to factor into the shortstop mix

For a position with relatively little turnover this offseason, the Rays still enter the year with plenty of questions at shortstop. On one hand, Williams’ upside is tantalizing and could completely change the complexion of the team’s outlook. On the other, Walls & Williamson both provide a safer and steadier option at the position.