ST. PETERSBURG -- At the start of August, the Rays’ Major League roster looked a lot different than it did a month before. So did the list of their top prospects in the Minor Leagues.

Continuing to hover around .500, Tampa Bay pulled off a series of trades throughout July that culminated with a few major moves prior to the Trade Deadline. Out went Aaron Civale, Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Jason Adam and Isaac Paredes, among others. In came a bevy of intriguing prospects, adding greater depth to a farm system headlined by Top 100 talent like Junior Caminero, Carson Williams, Xavier Isaac and Brayden Taylor.

“We feel like we've strengthened our future competitiveness considerably, and that's something that we're always trying to accomplish,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said after the Deadline. “Felt it was a situation where some of the interest in our players was such that we could really strengthen ourselves for the future. We liked our system a lot prior to this Deadline.

“The [Deadline was an] opportunity to get back a lot of pitching in deals and really strengthen that side, while also getting some position players we like considerably -- and redoing the Major League club a little bit with that.”

So there’s a dramatically new look to the Rays’ midseason Top 30 Prospects list, featuring plenty of rising and falling among their returning players along with a bunch of new names. The flurry of activity sending out familiar faces may have been frustrating in the moment, and it removed a handful of key contributors from the big league roster, but it once again made the Rays’ system among the best in baseball.

Here’s a look at the Rays’ top prospects:

1. Junior Caminero, 3B/2B (MLB No. 2)
2. Carson Williams, SS (MLB No. 6)
3. Xavier Isaac, 1B (MLB No. 21)
4. Brayden Taylor, 3B/SS/2B (MLB No. 50)
5. Chandler Simpson, OF

Complete Top 30 list »

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:

Jump: Gary Gill Hill, RHP (Preseason: unranked | Midseason: No. 8)
The Rays thought they might have something when they selected Gill Hill in the sixth round of the 2022 Draft, two months shy of his 18th birthday, although they figured it might be more of a long-term project. But the 6-foot-2 right-hander has quickly rewarded Tampa Bay’s faith, flashing a pair of quality fastballs, a pair of breaking balls and a promising changeup. He put together a 2.40 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP with 90 strikeouts in 90 innings over his first 18 outings of the season for Single-A Charleston, establishing himself as arguably the top pitching prospect in the system.

Fall: Mason Montgomery, LHP (Preseason: No. 9 | Midseason: unranked)
Montgomery had an incredible 2022 season, earning his organizational Minor League Pitcher of the Year award, and he did a lot of encouraging things last year. But his return to Triple-A Durham this season didn’t go nearly as well, as he got off to an 0-7 start with a 6.86 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP in 80 innings over his first 23 appearances. He’s performed better coming out of the bullpen, and it’s worth noting that he picked up his first career save for Durham on Aug. 8. With a strong fastball that plays well at the top of the zone, in the mold of Colin Poche, it’s possible Montgomery will wind up in the Majors as a reliever.

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New to the list

Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:

No. 6: Theo Gillen, OF (Draft, first round, No. 18 overall)
No. 10: Aidan Smith, OF (Acquired from Mariners for Arozarena)
No. 12: Dylan Lesko, RHP (Acquired from Padres for Adam)
No. 13: Brody Hopkins, RHP (Acquired from Mariners for Arozarena)
No. 19: Jackson Baumeister, RHP (Acquired from Orioles for Eflin)
No. 20: Mac Horvath, 3B/2B (Acquired from Orioles for Eflin)
No. 21: Gregory Barrios, SS (Acquired from Brewers for Civale)
No. 24: Homer Bush Jr., OF (Acquired from Padres for Adam)
No. 25: Matthew Etzel, OF/1B (Acquired from Orioles for Eflin)
No. 28: J.D. Gonzalez, C (Acquired from Padres for Adam)
No. 29: Émilien Pitre, 2B (Draft, second round, No. 58 overall)

Best tools

Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 65 -- Chandler Simpson
Power: 70 -- Junior Caminero
Run: 80 -- Simpson (Homer Bush Jr.)
Arm: 70 -- Carson Williams
Defense: 70 -- Gregory Barrios
Fastball: 70 -- Yoniel Curet
Curveball: 55 -- Santiago Suarez
Slider: 60 -- Curet (Brody Hopkins)
Changeup: 70 -- Dylan Lesko
Control: 55 -- Suarez