Kameron Misner Is Giving the Tampa Bay Rays a Spark
After injuries opened a spot for Misner in the majors, his red-hot bat has kept him in the lineup.
On Opening Day, Kameron Misner was called off the bench in the ninth inning to pinch-hit for the Rays against the Rockies’ Victor Vodnik. Misner, a 27-year-old rookie with 15 major league at-bats under his belt, swung at the first pitch he saw and instantly went from relative unknown to hero, launching his first career home run in walk-off fashion.
Misner was originally a first-round pick by Miami, who traded him to Tampa Bay in November 2021 for infielder Joey Wendle. The tall, lanky outfielder spent the next three seasons slowly climbing through the minor leagues, showing a blend of power and speed, but could not earn a big league opportunity.
After striking out 10 times in 15 at-bats last season with Tampa Bay, Misner knew he needed to make changes in order to stick as a major leaguer. Well, those changes have translated to success, and now Misner is looking like the next Rays success story.
Injuries opened a spot for Misner to make the Rays roster, and his bat is going to keep him as a fixture in the lineup going forward.
Stats updated prior to first pitch on April 23.
Unlocking Potential
As is the case for most first-rounders, the talent is there. Finding a way to adjust and get the most out of that talent as the competition improves is often what players struggle with.
Misner recently joined the Just Baseball Show (watch here) and discussed what his offseason process looked like and the changes he made that have led to his early success.
“The main goal is to keep your barrel in the zone as long as possible, and what I was doing was kicking my hands out and I wasn’t able to get them back, which caused a seesaw effect with my hands in and out of the zone,” Misner said. “If I get my hands here and inside of the ball, I’m going to be able to turn on the ball a whole lot easier.”
The change from 2024 (left) and 2025 (right) is very noticeable. Misner’s hands are higher and require less movement to get into his load. He has a simplified setup with less movement in the box that has obviously translated to better at-bats and contact.
We’ll throw out the 15 at-bat sample from 2024 due to sample size and compare his minor league batted ball data to his 2025 data. Misner’s 92 mph average exit velocity is a major jump from 88.8 mph in Triple-A last season.
“I feel like I can hit anything and it’s just a matter if I am on time or not.”
Well, Misner’s timing has certainly been great to start the season. What has impressed me the most is his ability to hit no matter where the pitch is in the zone.
As you can see from the graphic above, courtesy of our friends at Baseball Savant, Misner is impacting the baseball in all areas of the zone. Zone coverage of this level makes it difficult for pitchers to attack, knowing they can not steal a strike or focus on an area where they can find a lazy pop-out or weak groundout.
Yes, a 61 plate appearance sample size is too small to confidently predict how a player’s season will pan out. However, what you can take away from small sample sizes are the changes that led to these results.
Misner’s mechanical changes and mentality tell me that what we are seeing is not just a good month, but the foundation of what could become a productive major leaguer.
Can Misner’s Success Continue?
Through 19 games, Misner is lashing .352/.393/.648 with three home runs, good for a 199 wRC+. Will he continue to produce at this level? No, but he has the makings and indicators that lead me to believe he can be a starting-level player.
One aspect that held Misner back in the minors was too much swing and miss. In Double and Triple-A, Misner sat around a 28-30% strikeout rate. His simplified stance and relocation of his hands have translated to a 16.4% strikeout rate and 26% whiff rate in 2025, compared to a 42.9% whiff rate in his big league cup of coffee last season.
In his short stint in 2024, Misner had an alarming 60.9% in-zone contact rate compared to his 85.4% this season. Obviously, not making contact on pitches in the zone will not lead to much success. Now, Misner is 3.4% better than the league average.
He’s making more contact, louder contact, and still has wheels that make him a threat on the basepaths. Another area that stands out is how he’s performing against off-speed and breaking pitches.
Against off-speed, Misner has a .313 average, while he’s hitting .364 on breaking pitches, including two home runs. There’s still a little too much whiff on these offerings, but they do not have to be his bread and butter. Hunt fast baseballs and perform well enough on secondaries to keep the pitcher from spinning you to death.
Final Thoughts
I know we say it all the time, but the Rays are one of, if not the best organization at getting the most out of their players. Tampa Bay identified the holes in Misner’s game, and he worked hard all offseason to patch them.
Although he is outperforming the peripherals, it’s not drastic enough to think a complete fall-off is around the corner. From listening to him speak on the Just Baseball Show, it’s clear Misner is in a better headspace to deal with the challenges he’ll face once the league starts to adjust.
Tampa Bay has plenty of opportunity in the outfield. Josh Lowe has yet to play due to injury, rookie Chandler Simpson still has to prove he can stick, Jake Mangum has played well but is far from cemented, and Christopher Morel is striking out 41.2% of the time. The runway is there, and Misner is poised to claim his spot.
Written by