Curtis Mead

Curtis Mead

24-Year-Old Second Baseman2B
Tampa Bay Rays
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Mead, a year after he was acquired from Philadelphia for Cristopher Sanchez, was looked at by some as another steal by the Rays. Now, as Michael Scott once said, "Well well well, how the turntables..." or something like that. Sanchez had a breakout season in 2024, while Mead spent more time in Triple-A Durham than he did in the majors, as he has yet to show the ability to hit or field as an everyday big league player. Mead continued to hit well in the minors, but his time in the majors saw him mostly overpowered by righties, and he had only one home run in 132 plate appearances around a lot of sub-optimal contact. Mead also struggled to find a defensive home, as he lacks the arm strength to play third base and the footwork to play second base. What we're left with is a guy who so far profiles best on a short-side platoon at DH, which is far from the trajectory envisioned for him even 12 months ago. He qualifies at second base only on draft day, so he is an intriguing draft-and-hold target if he can resurface some of what made him a highly rated prospect, but there is a good chance he returns to Durham to begin the season in hopes of finding a defensive home. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#391
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Rays in March of 2024.
Batting leadoff in opener
2BTampa Bay Rays
March 28, 2025
Mead is starting at first base and batting leadoff in Friday's opener versus the Rockies.
ANALYSIS
Mead was one of the best hitters in all of baseball during spring training, going a ridiculous 22-for-42 (.524) with one home run and a 6:6 K:BB. The Rays have rewarded him by slotting him at the top of their batting order in their opener against southpaw Kyle Freeland. Much of Mead's playing time is likely to come versus lefties, but he could hit his way into a bigger workload if he gets off to a hot start.
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Batting Stats
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2025
2024
2023
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Batting Order Slot Breakdown
vs Right-Handed Pitchers
vs RHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
vs Left-Handed Pitchers
vs LHP
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
1
3/283/293/303/314/1987654321
Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+64%
OPS vs LHP
2025
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
2024
 
 
+111%
OPS vs LHP
2023
 
 
+34%
OPS vs LHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023vs Left .781 90 11 0 6 0 .304 .389 .392
Since 2023vs Right .475 143 11 2 6 2 .193 .231 .244
2025vs Left .000 5 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
2025vs Right .200 5 0 0 0 0 .000 .200 .000
2024vs Left .849 50 6 0 3 0 .364 .440 .409
2024vs Right .403 81 4 1 4 2 .167 .185 .218
2023vs Left .805 35 5 0 3 0 .267 .371 .433
2023vs Right .600 57 7 1 2 0 .245 .298 .302
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2023
 
 
+6%
OPS at Home
2025
 
 
-100%
OPS at Home
2024
 
 
+31%
OPS at Home
2023
 
 
+2%
OPS on Road
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2023Home .608 112 9 2 6 0 .235 .295 .314
Since 2023Away .575 121 13 0 6 2 .232 .289 .286
2025Home .100 10 0 0 0 0 .000 .100 .000
2025Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Home .651 63 5 1 4 0 .263 .317 .333
2024Away .496 68 5 0 3 2 .215 .250 .246
2023Home .669 39 4 1 2 0 .250 .308 .361
2023Away .680 53 8 0 3 0 .255 .340 .340
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Stat Review
How does Curtis Mead compare to other hitters?
This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • BB/K
    Walk to strikeout ratio
  • BB Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
  • K Rate
    The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
  • ISO
    Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
  • AVG
    Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
  • OBP
    On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
  • SLG
    Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
  • OPS
    On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
  • wOBA
    Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Hard Hit Rate
    A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
  • Barrels/PA
    The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Expected BA
    Expected Batting Average.
  • Expected SLG
    Expected Slugging Percentage.
  • Sprint Speed
    The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
  • Ground Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
  • Line Drive %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
  • Fly Ball %
    The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.
BB/K
0.50
 
BB Rate
10.0%
 
K Rate
20.0%
 
BABIP
.000
 
ISO
.000
 
AVG
.000
 
OBP
.100
 
SLG
.000
 
OPS
.100
 
wOBA
.069
 
Exit Velocity
88.6 mph
 
Hard Hit Rate
42.9%
 
Barrels/PA
0.0%
 
Expected BA
.268
 
Expected SLG
.293
 
Sprint Speed
24.8 ft/sec
 
Ground Ball %
57.1%
 
Line Drive %
14.3%
 
Fly Ball %
28.6%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Batting Stats
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Additional Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Batted Ball Stats
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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2022
Unfortunately, we didn't get much clarity last season on Mead's long-term or short-term future. Seen as one of the better pure hitters in the minors heading into 2023, the Australian infielder had a strong showing in big-league camp but got off to a slow start at Triple-A before getting hit on the wrist by a pitch in late-April. He returned in late-June and got his first of two calls to the majors in early-August. Mead performed up to expectations at Triple-A after returning from injury, slashing .336/.439/.604 with seven home runs, 15 doubles and as many walks as strikeouts (26) in 39 games. His production over multiple stints in the majors was more modest, although he held his own (95 wRC+, 22.8 K%). The righty-hitting Mead got 13 starts against lefties and seven starts against righties while getting the bulk of his starts at third base. His minor-league track record suggests he can make enough impact to justify an everyday role, but Tampa Bay may not have everyday playing time available early in 2024. Mead is still an offensive-minded prospect worth betting on long term, but he'll need to be playing almost every day to be a viable option in mixed leagues due to his lack of speed.
A 22-year-old Aussie who has always been a bat-first infielder, Mead once again proved to be one of the best pure hitters in the minors in 2022. He slashed .298/.390/.532 with an 18.7 K% and 13 home runs in 76 games between Double-A and Triple-A. Mead ended the year on the shelf with an elbow strain and had an injection to help the healing, so while he was added to the 40-man roster after the season, there is still a slight chance the elbow will start barking again once he's a full-go in spring training. His hit tool is more of an agreed upon carrying tool than his power, but he is a career .517 slugger who has logged isolated power figures north of .200 at every stop above rookie ball except High-A, so there's a decent chance he will hit for plus game power. Mead's one big weakness is defense, as he isn't a great athlete and his arm probably isn't good enough for third base or the outfield. That limits him to second base, first base and designated hitter. He will be competing with Brandon Lowe, Jonathan Aranda and Isaac Paredes, among others, for playing time in 2023. Mead has very little left to prove offensively in the minors.
A breakout age-20 season solidified Mead as one of the best pure hitters who is not yet widely viewed as an elite prospect. He hit .321/.378/.533 with 15 home runs, a 15.5 K% and a 7.4 BB% in 104 games, primarily at Low-A and High-A. Mead then hit .313/.360/.530 with three home runs in 20 Arizona Fall League games. The Aussie infielder excels at using the whole field and his hard-hit data was impressive for a player his age in full-season ball. He is a subpar defender everywhere, which will make it a bit more challenging for him to break through as an everyday player, especially in Tampa Bay. However, if his bat is as good as it seems, he should eventually see regular work at first base and designated hitter.
More Fantasy News
Makes Opening Day roster
2BTampa Bay Rays
March 21, 2025
Rays manager Kevin Cash said Friday that Mead has made the Opening Day roster, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
ANALYSIS
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Continues hot start to spring
2BTampa Bay Rays
March 6, 2025
Mead went 4-for-4 with one walk and one run scored in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies.
ANALYSIS
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Battling for bench spot
2BTampa Bay Rays
February 9, 2025
Mead will enter spring training battling with Eloy Jimenez for one of Tampa Bay's final bench spots, Marc Topkin of the Tamp Bay Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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Sent down to minors
2BTampa Bay Rays
August 13, 2024
The Rays optioned Mead to Triple-A Durham on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Playing time trending upward
2BTampa Bay Rays
August 12, 2024
Mead will start at designated hitter and bat seventh in Monday's game against the Astros, Steve Carney of StPeteNine.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Likely bet for Opening Day roster
2BTampa Bay Rays
January 21, 2024
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times speculates Mead is likely to make Tampa Bay's Opening Day roster as a utility player.
ANALYSIS
Mead is one of the organization's top prospects and made his MLB debut last season, posting a .253/.326/.349 slash line in 92 plate appearances. He's traditionally a third baseman but could be a backup option at shortstop until Taylor Walls recovers from hip surgery. A strong start to the campaign could secure Mead a big-league spot beyond that, however.
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