Though it may feel presumptuous to write about the trade deadline two months ahead of time, it's fair to expect the Tampa Bay Rays to be buyers once July rolls around. The Rays are off to one of the best starts in baseball, and figure to remain in the hunt all year -- be it either for the American League East division crown or a wild-card spot. As such, let's focus on a player who will likely double as their top trade chit come July: 21-year-old Double-A outfielder Jesus Sanchez.

Sanchez entered the season ranked third in the system by Baseball Prospectus and sixth by FanGraphs. That's notable for two reasons:

The Rays have a top-shelf farm by most any measure, making Sanchez a high-grade prospect by default. The Rays tried trading him during the offseason. League sources confirmed to CBS Sports that Tampa Bay attempted to move Sanchez in a deal for first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. The Arizona Diamondbacks found a different deal more to their liking, but the Rays' willingness to include Sanchez in a deal runs counterculture to their typical hoarder approach.

What is it about Sanchez that makes him both highly desirable and yet seemingly dispensable? It has to do with Sanchez's greatest perceived strength: his bat.

In an ideal scenario, Sanchez's stick will make him a lot of money over the next decade-plus. There's a real chance he turns into a middle-of-the-order hitter who hits for average and power alike. Unfortunately, there's also a real chance he doesn't. The biggest hurdles facing him at the moment are his aggressive approach and the usability of his power tool.

Sanchez entered the week walking in about 8.5 percent of his plate appearances. That would represent a new career-high for someone who, coming into this season, had taken a free pass in around six percent of his trips to the plate as a professional. It's not just that he doesn't like to walk, it's also that he consistently strikes out in about 20 percent of his plate appearances. Additionally, Sanchez's free-swinging ways are more concerning now than they might be in a year or two's time because of how much of his power remains theoretical in nature.

While Sanchez has long been expected to grow into more pop as he grew into his frame, he's yet to realize his potential despite adding mass. At the moment, his single-season high in home runs is 15 -- and that was set in A-ball, when he posted a .173 ISO. Sanchez's current .134 ISO is lower than those posted by five teammates, including speedy shortstop Lucius Fox. One rival talent evaluator pointed out that Sanchez's launch angle is similar to that of current Rays outfielder Avisail Garcia, who had a similar profile and has since authored a mostly disappointing big-league career. Sanchez, then, is a bit of a risk. If he hits, he has star potential; if he comes up short, he could be the type who gets non-tendered before he hits free agency.

The Rays aren't going to give away Sanchez, to be clear, but moving him might make sense for other reasons, too -- like their organizational depth. Already, they have an outfield in place -- of Kevin Kiermaier, Tommy Pham, and Austin Meadows -- that collectively remains under team control through the 2021 season. The Rays have other interesting outfield prospects climbing the ladder, too: Josh Lowe, Ryan Boldt, Garrett Whitley, and Moises Gomez are each stationed at High-A or above. Few, if any of those players are considered better prospects than Sanchez, but they don't have to be for their presence to factor into the calculus.

Add it all up, and Sanchez is likely to remain on the trading block over the coming months. We'll see if anyone bites -- and if so, just who exactly the Rays net in return.

Good. For a look at which prospects you should be targeting in fantasy baseball, check out our colleague Scott White's take.

Now, onto our Prospect Watch.