Being a native citizen of a truely midwestern state, nothing made me smile more than hearing an Illinois kid was drafted(and then signed) by the Rays. One of my "kids to watch" from Princeton(along with fellow 2007 draftee Chris Luck and the newly signed DJ Jones), I got a chance to ask Kyle some questions.

For those who don't know who you are, who is Kyle Ayers?

Hes a 17 year old who loves baseball....

If you had to explain yourself as a pitcher in 10 words or less, how would you?

Very Hardworking and Fearless

How were contract negotiations for you? More or less than you expected? Was it done in a more personal way or was it all business?

My contract negotiations were really easy. Umm, it was what I expected and it was done more in a personal way....

How's life in Princeton and how does Rookie League in the Appalachian League compare to HS ball in Oswego?

Princeton is a nice town...Small but very nice and the people are extremely nice. Appy ball compared to HS ball is extremely different....The hitters actually know how to hit!!!You cant blow your fastball by them...you need to spot everything you throw and think about every pitch you're gonna throw...

Had you not been drafted and signed, did you have any colleges that you were considering?

If I didnt get drafted I was going to a JC ...Parkland Junior College located in champaign Illinois....

Any "Welcome to the Pros/Minors" stories/pranks been done to you?

nope, no pranks yet....waiting for it though....

From experience talking to other minor leaguers in the past, who did you get paired up with living in a "host" house and how's life living with a family different from yours'?

We actually dont live with our host families...we live at a hotel we each have a roommate from the team...

If there was a pitch, outside of your current repetoire, that you could learn and become highly effective with, would would it be and why?

I would wanna learn a....Splitter because thats just a dirty pitch its extremely effective too if you can get it over for a strike....

Best advice that you've ever received from a coach, parent, mentor or friend/teammate.

Keep the ball down....