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Rays prospect tweets 'ready as I'll ever be' after he wasn't promoted

Tampa Bay Rays top pitching prospect Brent Honeywell doesn’t lack for confidence. The 22-year-old is putting up some impressive numbers in Triple-A, but the team doesn’t feel he’s ready for the big leagues just yet.

Honeywell disagrees, and after he was passed over for a promotion he decided to make his thoughts known on Twitter.

Honeywell may not have meant anything negative when he sent out that message, but it could be interpreted as a shot at the organization.

It may be meant as a shot at Tampa Bay Times reporter Marc Topkin, who recently gave his thoughts on why the Rays may have decided to keep Honeywell in Triple-A.

Keep in mind Topkin isn’t saying he thinks Honeywell isn’t ready. He’s trying to provide the Rays’ rationale for the decision.

Honeywell’s possible promotion became a topic of conversation after the team placed starter Jake Odorizzi on the disabled list with a back injury. With Odorizzi sidelined for at least two starts, some believed the team might turn to their top pitching prospect to take his place in the rotation.

Rays prospect Brent Honeywell believes he's ready for the majors. (AP Photo)
Rays prospect Brent Honeywell believes he’s ready for the majors. (AP Photo)

It doesn’t look like that’s going to be the case. The club scratched Honeywell’s teammate Austin Pruitt from his Tuesday start down in Triple-A. While the team hasn’t officially called him up yet, it’s believed he’ll make Friday’s start in place of Odorizzi.

Honeywell will also pitch Friday, but for the Durham Bulls. The team could have called him up without messing around with his throwing schedule, but may opt for Pruitt anyway.

It’s worth noting that Pruitt is on the team’s 40-man roster right now. Honeywell is not. If the team were to call Honeywell up, it would have to move someone off the 40-man. That may have been the deciding factor here.

Over 89 1/3 innings at Triple-A, Honeywell has a 4.23 ERA. While that’s an underwhelming figure, he’s also managed an excellent 115:25 strikeout to walk rate. His arsenal, which includes a screwball, is capable of overpowering hitters. Honeywell ranks as the No. 14 prospect on Baseball America’s midseason top-100 list.

It’s not the first time Honeywell has been outspoken on Twitter. He also called out Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper’s comments about making baseball fun again last April.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik