Tampa Bay Rays
E-mail
PrintBaseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible. Ages are as of April 1, 2008.
Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects
 (How to subscribe) |
|
| Rays Chat
Bill Ballew |
Pre-Order the 2008 Prospect Handbook 30 scouting reports on every team |
| TOP TEN PROSPECTS |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BEST TOOLS |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PROJECTED 2011 LINEUP |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TOP PROSPECTS OF THE DECADE |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TOP DRAFT PICKS OF THE DECADE |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LARGEST BONUSES IN CLUB HISTORY |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RAYS LINKS |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shortly after the 2007 season concluded, Tampa Bay officials announced that their franchise was undergoing an extreme makeover. The club dropped "Devil" from its name and would be henceforth known as simply the "Rays." The team adopted a brighter blue and yellow color scheme while switching to a logo that includes a yellow starburst, presumably to focus more on sunshine—and a brighter future.
On the field, the Rays hope to follow in the footsteps of their 1998 expansion brethren, the Diamondbacks, riding a group of young and promising players from the depths of their division to the postseason. Tampa Bay has quite a hill to climb after placing last in the American League East for the ninth time in its 10 seasons, and finishing with the worst record in baseball for the fourth time. The Rays have gained the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to own the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive drafts.
On the positive side, Tampa Bay has spent many of its early choices wisely, grabbing B.J. Upton with the No. 2 selection in 2002, Delmon Young with the No. 1 pick in 2003 and third-base prospect Evan Longoria with the No. 3 choice in 2006. The Rays had the second-youngest team in the majors in 2007 with an average age of 26.7 years, and they didn't have a single regular in their lineup or rotation who was 30. They caught lightning in a bottle with the free agent signing of Carlos Pena, who exploded for 46 homers, as well as the international acquisition of infielder Akinori Iwamura.
James Shields emerged as a legitimate second starter behind ace Scott Kazmir, and lefthanders David Price (the No. 1 overall pick in 2007) and Jake McGee and righty Wade Davis lead a wave of arms who are nearly ready for the majors.
To further shore up their pitching, the Rays stunningly parted with Young in a November trade after he had hit .288 with 13 homers while playing all 162 games in his rookie season. But they wanted to get a young, potential frontline starter, so they sent Young, Brendan Harris and outfield prospect Jason Pridie to the Twins for Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett and pitching prospect Eduardo Morlan.
The deal also signaled that Tampa Bay is putting a higher premium on makeup and becoming less tolerant of gifted players with petulant attitudes. Young, who was suspended 50 games for tossing a bat and hitting an umpire in the minors, had an inflated sense of entitlement and had a couple of run-ins with manager Joe Maddon. Five days after trading Young, the Rays dealt Elijah Dukes—one of the game's most gifted and most troubled players—to the Nationals for minor league lefty Glenn Gibson, who's talented but has yet to pitch above the short-season level.
While the Rays have yet to reach the 70-win mark after their first decade of existence, they should crack that barrier soon and could contend in the near future. In addition to all their young talent in Tampa, their farm system also has been ranked No. 1 by Baseball America for two years running. Tampa Bay's commitment to homegrown talent continued to show in 2007, when it signed its first 16 draft picks, fielded a team in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League for the first time since 2001 and opened an academy in Venezuela.
| Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects
(How to subscribe) |
| Pre-Order the 2008 Prospect Handbook 30 scouting reports on every team |
indicates Premium Content | Copyright © 1999-2009 Baseball America Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. All rights reserved. | Site Map | Frequently Asked Questions/Site Troubleshooting | Privacy Notice | Return/Refund Policy.
Baseball America, 4319 South Alston Avenue, Suite 103, Durham, NC 27713.