Rays announce Minor League Award Winners for 2025

The following was provided via team press release:

Seymour, 26, hit .263/.327/.553 (106-for-403) with 21 doubles, three triples, a career-high 30 home runs, 87 RBI, 38 walks and 70 runs scored over 105 games for Triple-A Durham in his fifth season as a Rays farmhand.

At the time of his Aug. 15 major-league promotion, Seymour’s 30 home runs were tied with Spencer Jones for the most in the minors, and his 87 RBI ranked third. He also paced the International League (IL) in total bases (223), tied for first in extra-base hits (54), was third in slugging percentage, fourth in runs scored, seventh in OPS (.880) and tied for seventh in hits. Despite making his last appearance for the Bulls on Aug. 13, his 30 home runs still lead the IL and are fourth most among all minor leaguers. He became the fourth Bull since at least 2006 to record a 30-homer season, joining Tristan Gray in 2023 (30) and 2022 (33), Dan Johnson (30), in 2010 and Kevin Witt (36) in 2006.

Seymour slashed .315/.386/.697 (28-for-89) with six doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 26 RBI and 22 runs scored over 22 games in June, setting monthly career highs (min. 40 plate appearances) in slugging percentage, OPS (1.083), extra-base hits (16), RBI and runs scored. He and Tristan Peters (27) both recorded the most RBI by a Bulls hitter in a calendar month since Mike Brosseau (27) in May 2019. Seymour was named IL Player of the Week for June 9-15, his first career weekly award, after going 8-for-21 (.381) with five extra-base hits, including three home runs, and 9 RBI in a six-game series vs. Charlotte.

On July 4 vs. Norfolk, Seymour went 3-for-5 with a season-high 6 RBI in a 9-1 win, tying a career high with three extra-base hits, including a double and two home runs. From July 25-27, he homered in a season-high three consecutive games, tying the longest streak by a Bulls hitter in 2025 and capping a two-month stretch spanning June and July in which he hit 15 home runs in 40 games. On Aug. 12 vs. Nashville in his penultimate game with Durham, Seymour went 4-for-4 with a career-high-tying three home runs, one of two three-homer games by Rays farmhands this season along with Durham’s Tres Barrera on April 4 vs. Sugar Land.

Selected in the 13th round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of Wake Forest University, Seymour had his contract selected on Aug. 15 and made his major league debut the same day at San Francisco. He notched his first career hit on Aug. 17 at San Francisco and his first home run on Aug. 20 vs. New York-AL.

Nichols, 23, is 13-3 with a 3.01 ERA (128.2IP, 43ER), 152 strikeouts, 27 walks, a 1.03 WHIP and a .225 (105-for-467) opponent batting average over 24 appearances (23 starts) between Double-A Montgomery (five starts) and Class-A Bowling Green (19 appearances/18 starts) following an Aug. 5 promotion. He leads the Rays system in wins and strikeouts, the latter of which he ranks 10th in the minors.

Nichols went 10-3 with a 3.63 ERA (96.2IP, 39ER), 119 strikeouts and 21 walks over 19 appearances (18 starts) with Bowling Green. He was named Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July after going 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA (22.1IP, 4ER) in four starts. At the time of his Aug. 5 promotion to Montgomery, he led High-A pitchers in wins and strikeouts.

In five starts since his Biscuits debut on Aug. 7 vs. Pensacola, he has gone 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA (32.0IP, 4ER), 33 strikeouts, six walks and a 0.84 WHIP while holding opponents to a .198/.237/.283 (21-for-106) slash line. Over that span, his ERA leads Double-A and ranks fourth among all full-season minor leaguers. He was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week for Aug. 11-17, his first career weekly award, after throwing a career-high-tying seven shutout frames on Aug. 15 at Charlotte, his second Double-A start.

A sixth-round selection by the Rays in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Arizona, Nichols is rated as the Rays No. 20 prospect by MLB.com.

Alberto, 23, made 42 relief appearances across stints with Class-A Charleston (11 games) and Class-A Bowling Green (31 games), going a combined 2-2 with a 2.59 ERA (48.2IP, 14ER), 64 strikeouts, 21 walks and a 1.17 WHIP. He began the year with Charleston, posting a 1.98 ERA (13.2IP, 3ER), 0.73 WHIP and .130 (6-for-46) opponent batting average. At the time of his May 13 promotion, it marked the third-best WHIP in the Carolina League (min. 10.0 IP). He went 2-2 with a 2.83 ERA (35.0IP, 11ER) in 31 games with Bowling Green, tallying 45 strikeouts against 17 walks. From his May 15 Hot Rods debut on, his 31 appearances were tied for second most among South Atlantic League pitchers.

The right-hander held opponents scoreless in 33 of his 42 outings and kept them hitless in 20 of 42. He did not allow an earned run in nine straight relief appearances from July 22 to Aug. 16.

The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was signed as an international free agent on Nov. 25, 2019.

Smith, 21, appeared in 86 games for Class-A Bowling Green in center field, eight games in right field and eight games at designated hitter this season. He committed two errors with eight assists on 235 total chances spanning 804.1 innings in the outfield. His .991 fielding percentage was the seventh best among High-A outfielders with at least 650.0 innings.

The native of Tulsa, Oklahoma was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Week for Aug. 25-31, his third career weekly award and first as a member of the Rays system. Tabbed as the Rays No. 6 prospect by MLB.com, Smith was acquired from the Seattle Mariners alongside right-handed pitcher Brody Hopkins and right-handed pitcher Ty Cummings for outfielder Randy Arozarena on July 26, 2024. Smith will play for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League this coming offseason.

Bush Jr., 23, swiped an organization-best 57 bases in 67 attempts (85.1 pct.) across 117 games with Double-A Montgomery. He joined Chandler Simpson, the Rays Baserunner of the Year in each of the last two seasons (2023-24), as the only Biscuits since 2005 with a 50-steal campaign. He is one of five full-season minor leaguers to steal 50 bases or more while batting .295 or better in 2025. The outfielder was named Southern League Player of the Week for Aug. 4-10 after going 12-for-23 (.522) with 6 RBI and 10 stolen bases in a six-game series vs. Pensacola.

Bush Jr. was acquired from the San Diego Padres alongside right-handed pitcher Dylan Lesko and catcher J.D. Gonzalez for right-handed pitcher Jason Adam on July 28, 2024. He is ranked as the Rays No. 23 prospect by MLB.com.

Named after former Rays minor league pitcher Erik Walker, who died tragically in 2006 following his first season in professional baseball, the award annually recognizes a Rays minor leaguer who exemplifies teamwork, sportsmanship and community involvement. James was selected from a field that included nominees from each Rays affiliate. The Rays Baseball Foundation will make a $2,500 donation in James’ name to his chosen charity.

“This season, Kam has exemplified what it means to be a good teammate. In a tough and somewhat thankless role, he has continued to show up with a great attitude and put in hard work each day,” said Biscuits General Manager Mike Murphy. “Kam always makes time to talk with fans and sign autographs for kids pre- and postgame. This year, he has been an amazing representative of the Biscuits and the Rays organizations, and I was happy to nominate him for the Erik Walker Community Award.”

James has featured at six different positions this season for Double-A Montgomery including left field (17 games), first base (12 games), third base (nine games), catcher (four games), designated hitter (two games) and pitcher (one game).

The 25-year-old was selected in the 16th round of the 2022 First-Year Player draft out of Mississippi State University. Additional nominees for the award included Logan Workman (Durham), Noah Myers (Bowling Green), Theo Gillen (Charleston) and Juanfel Peguero (FCL).

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