Flewelling, Brito Power Rays Prospects to 2-0 Spring Breakout Shutout Win

Two pitchers touching triple digits and a catcher from Red Deer, Alberta who already carries himself like a big leaguer: that was the story of Tampa Bay's Spring Breakout showcase on March 19, as the Rays' prospect group shut out a squad of New York Mets prospects, 2-0.

The pitching backbone of the win belonged to Anderson Brito and José Urbina, two right-handers who combined to keep Mets hitters off the board entirely. Urbina set the tone early, touching 99.3 mph in the first inning and finishing each of his strikeouts with cutters in the 86-89 mph range. The 20-year-old spent most of the 2025 season at Single-A Charleston, but his spring stuff suggested that High-A is the next destination.

Catching Urbina was Nathan Flewelling, the Rays' No. 11 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and the third-round pick out of St. Joseph High School in Red Deer, Alberta was effusive about what he saw from behind the plate. "I've caught him before, but he was on one tonight," Flewelling said. "It was coming out pretty easy for him, and it was fun to catch."

Brito took over for the final three innings and was equally commanding. The 21-year-old, acquired alongside outfielder Jacob Melton from the Houston Astros in a three-team trade over the winter, ran his fastball up to 97.6 mph and worked through his outing allowing only two hits while striking out three on 36 pitches, 25 of which were strikes. The situations he navigated were the most telling detail: he struck out two batters in the seventh with a runner standing on third base, then worked around two-out baserunners in both the eighth and ninth.

MLB Pipeline rates Brito as Tampa Bay's No. 6 prospect. Evaluator Ibach, who was present for the outing, connected what the organization scouted before the trade to what appeared on the field. "It's a guy we saw prior to the trade as having elite arm strength and can spin a breaking ball. He showed all that tonight," Ibach said. "But he also showed in just a few short weeks on the backfields how he can get in the zone and really challenge hitters and be on the attack from pitch one."

Flewelling's role in this game extended beyond calling pitches. The left-handed-hitting catcher has become one of the more talked-about figures in the Rays' system since being drafted in the third round of 2024. MiLB has previously labeled him a "2024 Draft sleeper," noting that he checked several boxes Tampa Bay looks for in backstop prospects at the combine. His bat is still developing, as Prospects1500 notes, but the defensive profile and the temperament are already drawing attention at the major league level. Butera relayed what Rays manager Kevin Cash said after Flewelling attended a big league game: "He went to our Major League game the other day, and [Kevin] Cash was saying it felt like he had been up there for a few years."

Flewelling himself has spoken about what he took from his professional debut: managing a full season's workload, building routines, and learning to handle failure. Those are not typical areas of focus for a teenager fresh out of a Canadian high school, but they reflect why the organization views him as more than just a body behind the plate.

The broader Rays prospect picture adds context to why this kind of performance registers. Thirteen members of Tampa Bay's current Top 30 were not in the organization a year ago; ten of them arrived via trades since last March, with Brito and Melton among the most notable additions. A 2-0 shutout in a spring showcase game is a small sample, but when the pitching staff is generating velocity like Urbina's 99.3 and Brito's 97.6 while commanding the strike zone at a 25-of-36 clip, the organizational pipeline looks considerably deeper than the turnover numbers might suggest.