Brujan ready to stir up Biscuits offense

Rays No. 6 prospect moves up after hitting .290 for Stone Crabs

Vidal Brujan joined Wander Franco as the second top prospect promoted by the Rays this week. (Joshua Tjiong/MiLB.com)

By Michael Avallone

June 27, 2019

Vidal Brujan's stay in the Florida State League may have been relatively short, but more importantly, it was extremely productive.Tampa Bay's No. 6 prospect was promoted to Double-A Montgomery on Thursday. Brujan departed Class A Advanced Charlotte after posting a .290/.357/.386 average with 12 extra-base hits and 24 stolen bases

Vidal Brujan's stay in the Florida State League may have been relatively short, but more importantly, it was extremely productive.
Tampa Bay's No. 6 prospect was promoted to Double-A Montgomery on Thursday. Brujan departed Class A Advanced Charlotte after posting a .290/.357/.386 average with 12 extra-base hits and 24 stolen bases in 44 games. The 21-year-old spent nearly a month on the injured list with an undisclosed ailment.

Despite his time off the field, MLB.com's No. 79 overall prospect didn't a miss beat. Brujan went 6-for-21 with six runs scored and three stolen bases in five games after coming off the IL. He was named to the Florida State League All-Star Game, although he didn't participate due to his injury. His next at-bat will come with the Biscuits against Southern League pitching.
Signed as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, Brujan hasn't hit lower than .271 in his four professional seasons and carried a .300 average into 2019. The switch-hitting infielder batted a career-best .320/.403/.459 with 41 extra-base hits, 55 stolen bases and a Minor League-best 112 runs scored in 122 games between Class A Bowling Green and Charlotte. His breakout season earned him a spot on the Rays' MiLB.com Organization All-Star squad as well as Midwest League midseason and postseason All-Star berths.

Tampa Bay has been aggressive with Brujan, who debuted in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League in 2015 as a 17-year-old. He spent the majority of the following season in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League before making a two-game cameo with Class A Short Season Hudson Valley. Brujan remained in the New York-Penn League for all of 2017 and started last season in the Midwest League before he was promoted to the FSL on Aug. 6.
It was the second major promotion for the Rays in the past week after they sent 18-year-old Wander Franco to Charlotte on Sunday. Baseball's top overall prospect has lived up to that billing, batting .329/.411/.517 through 64 games.

Michael Avallone is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @MavalloneMiLB.