Tampa Bay Rays: Can Brent Honeywell ever reach his potential?

Another year, another Brent Honeywell injury. Will the Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect ever reach his potential?

At this point in time, Brent Honeywell was supposed to be a key part of the Tampa Bay Rays rotation. The highly touted prospect was supposed to be entering his third season in the majors, possibly with an extension already in his pocket. The sky was the limit, as Honeywell had once been a consensus top 15 prospect in baseball.

While he is still highly regarded, the hoped for results have not been there. Due to a myriad of injuries, including Tommy John surgery and a fractured elbow during his rehab, Honeywell has yet to appear in the majors. He recently had another issue, undergoing a decompression procedure on his right ulnar nerve.

At this point, the last thing the Rays want to see is for Honeywell to undergo another procedure on his arm. While he should only be sidelined for a brief time, it still pushes him further back in regards to his finally breaking through to the major league level.

When Honeywell has been on the mound, he has been fantastic. Over his 416 minor league innings, he has posted a 2.88 ERA and a 1.082 WHiP, striking out 458 batters with just 93 walks. He had reached AAA by the end of 2017, with 24 starts for the Durham Bulls. Even if he spent more time in Durham in 2018, Honeywell was expected to be a part of the Rays rotation in short order.

His arsenal is also extremely intriguing. Armed with one of the few remaining screwballs in the game, he also possesses a five pitch repertoire that induces ground balls at an impressive rate. Coupled with his excellent command, one can easily see why he was considered a high end prospect.

But those arm injuries have continued. The Rays have enough pitching depth where that may not be an issue currently, but they still expect Honeywell to be a part of their future. With his screwball possibly putting more strain on the arm, it is fair to wonder if his arsenal will remain intact. And, for that matter, whether or not his arm can handle the strain of being in the rotation at this point.

Brent Honeywell has the type of potential teams dream of. But it is still uncertain as to whether or not the Tampa Bay Rays prospect will ever be healthy enough to live up to it.