The Rays first day Draft

This is a haul that should produce some quick dividends. Getting Liberatore at the 16 spot looks to be the steal of the first round. The Giants were considering him in the #2 spot and nobody would have batted an eye.  

Getting McClanahan, a 14 rank in the 31 spot is another coup. Mlb.com experts comp him to Sale, that may be a bit ambitious, but comp to Scott Kazmir is probably not. 

Nick Schnell looks to be more in the Rays wheelhouse, a HS sleeper pick, whose thumbnail sketch above reads like a Kiermeier clone. And he better be because...

The Rays were on the clock with the #31 and # 32 pick and McClanahan and Jackson Kumar, who some liked better than fellow Gator Brady Singer, and they bypassed Kumar for Schnell. 

No pressure, but the dark horse has to work out for you now or else some will remember that you could have walked away from the first day with your first day picks consisting of Liberatore, McCalahan and Kumar. That would have been an epic 1st three picks. 

Tyler Frank and Tanner Dodson are good picks and skew the Rays more college than HS so far. They seem to be looking for more "out of the box" than their usual "plant and develop" strategy.

Rays sign two-way standout McKay

"Our scouting staff believes that Brendan has the ability to impact a Major League roster on the mound, in the batter's box and defensively at first base," said Rays Director of Amateur Scouting Rob Metzler. "We are excited to provide Brendan the unique opportunity to further develop as a two-way prospect."

This is a pretty bold step for the Rays in terms of the bonus amount spent and giving him a chance to be a two-way player.

The kid now becomes the face and the future of the franchise. If he pulls off the two-way gig, he becomes the face and the future of major league baseball. It will be an interesting development to follow.

At the youth level, "doing both" is kind of taken for granted. To do it at the professional level is still very unique. Very much like the two-sport athletes like Bo Jackson and Deon Sanders, it will be very interesting and exciting for major league baseball if somebody could do it. If not McKay, perhaps the kid from Japan if he is ever released to MLB.

2015 Minor League Player Of The Year: Blake Snell

If the Rays can add this guys to a rotation that should bring Matt Moore and/or Drew Smyly back, things will look a bit sunnier in 2016. They still need to score runs a bit better as well, but the Rays have led with pitching recently and it seems like the seemingly endless stream of young pitching prospects is poised to continue in Tampa Bay.

2015 Minor League Player Of The Year: Blake Snell - BaseballAmerica.com

				2015 Minor League Player Of The Year: Blake Snell - Base... Blake Snell is the fourth Rays farmhand to win BA's POY Award.
				View on www.baseballamerica...	Preview by Yahoo

Design a breakout season for a pitcher, and it would look like Blake Snell's 2015.

A supplemental first-round pick of the Rays out of a Washington high school in 2011, Snell still had not progressed past A-ball entering the year. Then he opened the year with 21 scoreless innings to show he was too good for high Class A, en route to a 46-inning scoreless streak. He finished the year in Triple-A, posting the best walk rate of his career.

Few pitchers have approached Snell's success over the past decade. He finished 15-4, 1.41 overall that included 163 strikeouts in 134 innings. His 1.41 ERA, which led all minor league qualifiers, is the lowest for a full-season pitcher since Justin Verlander's 1.29 in 2005, and he ranked among the leaders in wins (tied for fourth), strikeouts (also tied for fourth), WHIP (ninth, 1.02) and opponent average (first, .182).

The statistics tell the story of a pitcher who has fulfilled the promise that Rays area scout Paul Kirsch recorded in his amateur report on Snell, which summarized his looks at the Shoreline, Wash., lefthander from July 2010 through May 2011.

Kirsch recorded Snell as 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, after he had shot up 10 inches from his 5-foot-6 sophomore stature at Shorewood High. His radar gun registered the speed of Snell's three pitches: a fastball that peaked at 94 mph, dipped as low as 87 and averaged 91, a 72-76 mph curveball and an 80-83 mph changeup.

Kirsch graded all three pitches in their current states on the 20-80 scouting scale, marking Snell's fastball as a 55 (slightly above major league average) to go with a 50 change and 45 curve. Kirsch projected all three to get better, with Snell earning a future 65 fastball, 60 curve and 60 changeup with average life and average future command of all three.

Next, he graded his arm action and delivery as 60s as well, and he described Snell physically, with words that for the most part still hold true today: "Medium large, tall frame; elongated features . . . long levers; XL hands, should fill out well; physically immature; baby face." Under "Makeup," Kirsch added, "some pissant in him on field."

The summary also goes into more detail about each of Snell's pitches. Kirsch reports on Snell's loose, easy arm and notes there's "more (velocity) in the tank; feel he will throw very hard someday soon." He notes his loose wrist—crucial for improving his breaking ball—and quality changeup with "late tumble life when down." And calls him "extremely projectable" with "very high upside."

But the real fortune-telling comes at the end. "Consistency of stuff only thing that is keeping him from being on the top of my pref list . . . If it all comes together for this kid, I believe he could be a No. 2 type starter . . . I can't imagine how good he can be when he is about 21 years old or so."

We don't have to imagine anymore. The 22-year-old Snell—our 2015 Minor League Player of the Year—has closed the gap between his reality and his potential. His dominant season put him on the cusp of becoming the Rays' latest ace, following in the lineage of Scott Kazmir, James Shields, David Price and Chris Archer.

"I'm the same guy; I still just have fun playing baseball," Snell says, "because in my mind I'm just an average guy . . . I feel like it's still high school. How have I changed? I feel like I'm a lot better at pitching."

The change really started in 2013, in instructional league following Snell's first full season in the minors. As is their wont, the Rays took it slow with Snell, sending him to two Rookie-ball assignments—the Gulf Coast League in 2011 and the Appalachian League in 2012—before sending him to full-season ball with low Class A Bowling Green in 2013. The "long runway" approach, as Rays officials put it, gave Snell time to grow physically and mentally before the grind of a full minor league season.

Snell stumbled through his first full season, walking 73 in 99 innings for Bowling Green to rank second in the Midwest League and going 4-9, 4.27. The Rays figured he would have to tweak his delivery if he was going to execute the organization's plan to pitch inside with authority. With a fastball that was steadily increasing in velocity as he added strength, Snell tantalized the Rays with his ability to bust righthanded hitters inside with his fastball and put them away with an impressive changeup that faded away from them.

Then-Hot Rods pitching coach Kyle Snyder and longtime Rays roving pitching coordinator Dick Bosman had broached the subject with Snell, both before the season and in 2013.

"The battles we had with this guy on his mechanics, well, he was a stubborn kid," Bosman says. "We knew the better way to teach it was to see him pitch and fail and teach him from that . . . There was plenty of stuff Blake Snell didn't want to do early on, but let him get his ass handed to him a few times, pretty soon you've got a damn receptive audience.

"Kyle deserves all the credit for bringing this kid around tactfully, and it has been a wonderful progression . . . He now pitches inside well to righthanded hitters. It takes courage to pitch inside, and he's got plenty of that good courage."

Snell's breaking ball has evolved in the last two years as well, beginning in instructional league after the 2013 season. "I learned the curveball from Dick Bosman," he says, as he shifted the grip on the pitch, creating spin more with his middle finger rather than his index finger. "I should know my fingers. I'm a pitcher."

He said playing catch with teammate Austin Pruitt helped him hone the grip and release of the pitch, working on getting four-seam spin on the curve, similar to his fastball.

"The power finger is the middle finger," says Snyder, who has seen the change firsthand as Triple-A Durham's pitching coach working with Snell over his final eight starts of 2015. "The other thing we have stressed is the commitment, the conviction, and there's a lot to be said for that. With conviction comes an element of deception. If he's selling all four pitches, fastball/curveball/slider/changeup, from the same slot, it gives you some room for error."

Snell hasn't needed much room for error this season. His 46-inning scoreless streak finally ended in the first inning of a May 23 game against Kyle Schwarber and Double-A Tennessee. Snell says he didn't want to remember that game as the game that ended his scoreless streak, realizing he had to do something positive to make it stand out otherwise.

So he struck out 12—a career best—in just six innings. He got Schwarber three times.

Snell has mostly fulfilled the "future" aspect of Kirsch's amateur report. He has added an inch and 20 pounds, and added strength has translated to improved arm speed. Snyder categorized Snell's arm speed as elite now, and Kirsch now says he considered it average at the time.

The loose wrist and ability to spin a breaking ball from high school have translated into the swing-and-miss breaking balls that Snell throws now. Consistency with both remains a final piece for Snell to polish, as well as quickening his times to the plate and improving his command. He did that this year, improving his walk rate from 4.4 per nine innings in 2014 to 3.6, including just 2.6 in 44 Triple-A innings.

As Kirsh recorded, Snell had the body to pitch, and the "control tower works," as Bosman said, referencing Snell's aptitude and overall makeup.

Perhaps that comes from his baseball background. His father Dave pitched six minor league seasons, reaching Double-A, and schooled Snell and his three brothers (including twin Tyler, who played in junior college) in the game.

"He humbles me pretty quick," Snell says of Tyler. "So I could throw a no-hitter, and he would say, 'It's because you didn't face me—I'd take you deep.' "

Snell spends offseasons back home in Washington, collecting Jordan brand shoes—he's got around 200 pairs—and cheering for the Seahawks. He's passionate about his hometown Washington Huskies and his dog Junior, a chocolate lab.

"No tobacco, no booze, no girlfriend. His best friend is his dog," Bosman jokes. "He's just totally determined to get to the big leagues. He's just zeroed in on where he wants to go."

Kirsch saw the focus back in high school, saw Snell struggle with command in a big road game, where opposing fans were chirping at him. Snell said there were about 60 scouts on hand, and while he couldn't hear them dissecting his performance, "I could hear my heart beating."

Kirsch, who had his scouting director, R.J. Harrison at the game, saw something, though. "He upped his game," Kirsch recalls. "He punched out the next two guys, and he just looked over at their fans as they died down. When we got done, R.J. just said, 'He's got a little (jerk) in him,' and it was a compliment."

A first-round pick and significant prospect as a player, Snyder sees Snell reaching his lofty goals: "He operates in the present. He's very focused and strong-willed. Those are things you can't teach. He's very driven and he wants to be a No. 1 starter in the big leagues. There's no question that's his ceiling, and he's confident he'll reach it. Certain guys have confidence, but with certain guys, confidence can be a liability. That's not the case with Blake."

Minor League Player of the Year

1981: Mike Marshall, 1b, Albuquerque (Dodgers)

1982: Ron Kittle, of, Edmonton (White Sox)

1983: Dwight Gooden, rhp, Lynchburg (Mets)

1984: Mike Bielecki, rhp, Hawaii (Pirates)

1985: Jose Canseco, of, Huntsville/ Tacoma (Athletics)

1986: Gregg Jefferies, ss, Columbia/Lynchburg/Jackson (Mets)

1987: Gregg Jefferies, ss, Jackson/Tidewater (Mets)

1988: Tom Gordon, rhp, Appleton/Memphis/Omaha (Royals)

1989: Sandy Alomar, c, Las Vegas (Padres)

1990: Frank Thomas, 1b, Birmingham (White Sox)

1991: Derek Bell, of, Syracuse (Blue Jays)

1992: Tim Salmon, of, Edmonton (Angels)

1993: Manny Ramirez, of, Canton/Charlotte (Indians)

1994: Derek Jeter, ss, Tampa/Albany/Columbus (Yankees)

1995: Andruw Jones, of, Macon (Braves)

1996: Andruw Jones, of, Durham/Greenville/Richmond (Braves)

1997: Paul Konerko, 1b, Albuquerque (Dodgers)

1998: Eric Chavez, 3b, Huntsville/Edmonton (Athletics)

1999: Rick Ankiel, lhp, Arkansas/Memphis (Cardinals)

2000: Jon Rauch, rhp, Winston-Salem/Birmingham (White Sox)

2001: Josh Beckett, rhp, Brevard County/Portland (Marlins)

2002: Rocco Baldelli, of, Bakersfield/Orlando/Durham (Devil Rays)

2003: Joe Mauer, c, Fort Myers/New Britain (Twins)

2004: Jeff Francis, lhp, Tulsa/Colorado Springs (Rockies)

2005: Delmon Young, of, Montgomery/Durham (Devil Rays)

2006: Alex Gordon, 3b, Wichita (Royals)

2007: Jay Bruce, of, Sarasota/Chattanooga/Louisville (Reds)

2008: Matt Wieters, c, Frederick/Bowie (Orioles)

2009: Jason Heyward, of, Myrtle Beach/Miss. (Braves)

2010: Jeremy Hellickson, rhp, Montgomery/Durham (Rays)

2011: Mike Trout, of, Arkansas (Angels)

2012: Wil Myers, of, Northwest Arkansas/Omaha (Royals)

2013: Byron Buxton, of, Cedar Rapids/Fort Myers (Twins)

2014: Kris Bryant, 3b, Tennessee/Iowa (Cubs)

The 100-mph-throwing art school kid: An incredible story of a scouting find - Yahoo Sports

A scout's dream come true, if the story is true. I thought it was a reprisal of the Sidd Finch story, but it's not April Fool's Day.

from Yahoo Sports:
The 100-mph-throwing art school kid: An incredible story of a scouting find - Yahoo Sports:

"About 10 scouts showed up last fall for the Academy of Art University baseball team's pro day. They munched on powdered donuts and sipped the gratis Sunny D and figured this was like any other small-college showcase: a waste of a morning. The position players finished running the 60-yard dash when up walked one more kid, a pitcher for the tiny San Francisco school, who asked the scouts if he could try. They looked up and nodded. Brandon Poulson stood 6-foot-7 and weighed 240 pounds with 8 percent BODY FAT. "He's like Ivan Drago," said Elliott Strankman, a Minnesota Twins scout there that day. "You know that scene in Rocky IV – 'Whatever he hits … he destroys.' That's what he reminds me of.""

'via Blog this'

It just goes to show that if you have talent, they will find you.

Heck, they found Bobby Jenks in the mountains of Idaho hanging out with the Unabomber and Billy Wagner throwing 100 MPH in the coal mines of West Virginia.

I forgot about the legend of the Rays brush with "Toe" Nash.  

Rays Set To Sign International Shortstop Prospect Adrian Rondon

This would be a big pick-up for the Rays but as usual, you're going to have to wait -- Rondon is 15 years old!!! Unbelievable. At that price, you have to be right. Comps are to Starlin Castro, let's hope the mean from the neck down.



from baseballnewssource.com

Rays Set To Sign International Shortstop Prospect Adrian Rondon:

The Tampa Bay Rays are set to sign international shortstop prospect Adrian Rondon, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com, but technically cannot sign the the youngster until July 7 because he has yet to turn 16. Thats right, he is 15 years old.

Rondon was considered the top prospect in the 2014 International Draft. He projects to be a shortstop at the Major League level. He is a slick defender and has shown gap to gap power at the plate.

'via Blog this'





from Baseball America:

1. Adrian Rondon, ss, Dominican Republic

Born: July 7, 1998. Height: 6-2. Weight: 180. B-T: R-R.

Some scouts consider Rondon the most advanced hitter in the class. He has good bat speed and a quick, compact stroke, showing a knack for barreling the ball with good plate coverage to make plenty of contact in games. He has good rhythm and balance with the ability to square up high-end velocity. He will chase hard breaking pitches off the plate at times, but he has a mature hitting approach for his age, working deep counts and using the whole field. He’s more of a line-drive hitter than a power threat, but there’s loft in his swing and projection in his frame, so his doubles should turn into more home runs with more strength.

Rondon also has the attributes that should allow him to stick at shortstop. He’s more of a steady defender than a flashy one, with speed and arm strength that both grade out as 50-55 tools on the 20-80 scale. Given that he’s still 15 and has a live, athletic frame, both of those tools could tick up, although that’s always tricky to project. Rondon will have to improve his footwork, but he has good hands and plays under control with a knack for slowing the game down on both sides of the ball.

Scouts highest on Rondon think he could make a rapid rise, along the lines of Starlin Castro. Sources believe the Rays are so enamored with Rondon that they are willing to shatter their international bonus pool to make sure they get him, which is why they’re seen as the favorites to sign him.

Rays pick Casey Gillaspie

The comp in the article is to Mark Teixeira, which may be due to the fact that he is pigeon-holed as a 1B-DH type who switch-hits. If his bat produces anything near Teixeira like production, the Rays would take that right now. These bats have to start paying off for the Rays who need the help at the major league level very quickly.

from Bleacher Report:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2076625-casey-gillaspie-prospect-profile-for-tampa-bay-rays-1st-round-pick?

The younger brother of Chicago White Sox corner infielder Conor Gillaspie, Casey, a switch-hitting first baseman, has done nothing but improve since arriving at Wichita State.

After going undrafted out of high school, Gillaspie made an immediate impact for the Shockers in 2012 as a freshman, batting .274/.378/.442 with 10 doubles, eight home runs and a respectable 43/34 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 59 games.

'via Blog this'

Mikie Mahtook ready for the Rays?

Maybe he gives them a little offensive shot in the arm which the Rays do need right about now. Add this guy in there with Longoria and Wil Myers and you have some young, but talented RH bats.  He'll have to serve his time in AAA until he loses FA time. I wouldn't wait too long if I were Rays management. Not in that division.



Baseball America Prospect Report
Compiled by Baseball America   April 15, 2014

PITCHER OF THE DAY: Bryan Mitchell, rhp — Double-A Trenton (Yankees)
When Mitchell finds command, it's sure to be a long night for the opposition. He did just that last night in Akron, and the result was one of the best individual games of the season. Mitchell, a 22-year-old righthander with a mid-90s heater and a hammer hook, fanned 12 hitters in six shutout innings.  

HITTER OF THE DAY: Mikie Mahtook, lf — Triple-A Durham (Rays)
The former LSU Tiger and 2011 first-rounder was a perfect 5-for-5 with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI in yet another Bulls win. He lacks a carrying tool and profiles more as a second-division regular, but he's hitting .356/.396/.444 so far, and that's plenty good.

'via Blog this'

Panda back for pivotal L.A. series - Wil Myers debuts in NY - Batman and Robin return to Gotham city

I feel better already.

from Yahoo Sports:
San Francisco Giants - Team Report - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

3B Pablo Sandoval is feeling good physically. Mentally, he's even better. Sandoval's sprained right foot passed a two-day test in the minor leagues Friday and Saturday on a rehab assignment. He will be activated off the disabled list Monday and is expected to start in the Giants' road-trip opener at Los Angeles. The Giants will be getting a hot bat back in the lineup. Albeit it against Single-A pitching, Sandoval went 4-for-6 in his two appearances for the San Jose Giants, belting a home run in each game he played. He also looked smooth in 12 innings at third base.

'via Blog this'

....from my second favorite 38-37 team. Rays also getting solid efforts from young RHP's Chris Archer and Alex Colome. They are just loaded with young pitching. Now if only David Price can pick it up.

How does that song go "if I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere...." Looks like a good future is in store for Wil Myers.

Wil Myers hits first career home run — a grand slam off C.C. Sabathia at Yankee Stadium

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/wil-myers-hits-first-career-home-run-grand-092359187.html

When the Tampa Bay Rays announced the promotion of top prospect Wil Myers last Sunday, they did so hoping the 22-year-old outfielder could provide a little power while helping to lengthen a lineup that had been struggling to produce consistently.

video of the Myers blast off C.C. Sabathia: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/myers-grand-slam-235400287.html


And in Gotham city, Batman (Matt Harvey) appears to have found his Robin (Zack Wheeler). 

from the NY Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/harper-mets-peak-future-wheeler-harvey-article-1.1376500


Wheeler from his days as a Giants prospect. (heavy sigh) It's OK,

we had to make the Beltran deal at the time
we had to make the Beltran deal at the time
we had to make the Beltran deal at the time

There, I feel much better.

The Rays of the Future Identified - DRaysBay

CAN'T WAIT!!!!

I have to admit I use a similar methodology to to begin the process of sorting / ranking my Giants prospect list.  However, instead of taking Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice's opinion, I use Baseball America, Fan Graphs, John Sickels and other scouting authorities, to come up with the initial group of names and preliminary rankings.  No knock on these guys, they likely read the same sources that most of us do. The big-guys have their reputations for a reason. This approach is very consensus, "wisdom of the crowd" oriented. I think McCovey Chronicles takes a similar approach, so it's apparently a copy-cat league in the blog-osphere as well as the NFL.


from  draysbay.com
2013 DRaysBay writers' top 30 prospect list - DRaysBay:

To combine the four lists, I used the NCAA poll point system. A vote for first place is 30 points, second is 29, all the way down to 30th being 1 point. To break the ties, I went with the player who had the smaller standard deviation between the two.

'via Blog this'

So, if I have, let's say 7 master lists to begin, the names that appear on all seven lists rise to the top, the ones who appear on 6 of  7 are next, and so on. Within those categories I sub-sort by who appears the highest (and receives the lowest score, much like golf) on the lists in aggregate as a tie-breaker. If there are seven lists, a perfect score is 7 -- the number 1 ranking on all seven lists. A consensus-stud prospect, if you will. There are not too many of those, since there seems to be a bit of a competition to out-identify the competition.

Then I look into the statistical components, age, level of play and so on to adjust players up or down. The "guru's lists" tend to over-rank the younger guys for some reason. It may be the need among that group to be recognized as the "first to identify the next big thing" so I put a little more stock in the statistical analysis than OPR or "Other Peoples Rankings".

This is where the rubber hits the road as far as identifying a "dark-horse" who makes it, when nobody else sees him or a consensus favorite "breaks it" and becomes an infamous bust. Some statistics are simply more relevant than others and either send up red-flags or the give you the old checkered flag (WINNER!!).

If I really feel up to it, I'll try to find some film, either on YouTube or a scouting service and see if the guy "looks the part" of a true prospect. Maybe as a pitcher, he's succeeding with a "funked-up" delivery. After that, it's all over but writing a thumb-nail of what you've seen, heard and read and numbers-crunched.

Presto!! Now you can make your very own Organizational Prospect List, just like the experts do.  As soon as you know which stats to look for. Stay tuned for more on that in the future.

I like the lists overall and it is clear why the Rays have the sterling reputation they do as an organization that scouts, drafts and develops well. Like the Giants, their top 7-10 guys look like they will be solid players for years to come.

The Rays have to win in this area of the game in order to survive the division they are in. They simply continue to do the most-est (developing stars) with the least-est (money to invest in payroll).

more from draysbay.com:
http://www.draysbay.com/rays-prospects/2013/1/25/3914642/top-30-prospects-week-dans-top-30

1. Wil Myers, OF
2. Chris Archer, RHP
3. Taylor Guerrieri, RHP
4. Jake Odorizzi, RHP
5. Alex Colome, RHP
6. Hak-Ju Lee, SS
7. Richie Shaffer, 3B
8. Jake Hager, SS
9. Blake Snell, LHP
10. Brandon Guyer, OF