Meet the Candidates: Pedro Alvarez

The June draft may be a little over a month and a half away, but the Rays have been on the clock since the end of the 2007 season. Another finish at the bottom of the standings means the Rays once again will be picking first overall in June, and this year it seems four players are "in the running" to be selected, though by no means are the Rays excluding everybody else. Beginning today, we'll take a look at a candidate each day, culminating Friday with my first mock draft of the spring. Today we profile Pedro Alvarez, an infielder from Vanderbilt, after the jump.

The Rays went down to Vanderbilt to grab last year's #1 pick, David Price, and Alvarez might make it 2-for-2. A college junior, Alvarez was the consensus top college player entering the year, though a hammate injury cost him a good portion of the early part of the 2008 season. He's back at 3rd base now and looking good as ever, and with his impressive track record, it's tough to believe the injury will cost him come June 5th.

Alvarez was drafted out of a New York high school in the 14th round by Boston in 2005, but instead chose the college route and Vanderbilt. He started raking the day he arrived on campus, hitting 22 home runs his freshman year with an OPS of 1.131. He was named National and SEC Freshman of the Year, and entered the 2007 season with lofty expectations. He met them, raising his batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage from his freshman year.

Alvarez was invited to play for the 2007 Team USA baseball team, and just continued smoking the ball, leading the team in most offensive categories. Prior to the 2008 college season, Alvarez was named a first-team preseason All-American and appeared on virtually every award watchlist. In the first series of the season, however, Alvarez was hit by a pitch and broke the hammate bone in his hand. He missed the rest of February and all of March, but when he returned in April, he showed no lingering effects of the injury, which often saps a hitters power for some time even after returning to action. Alvarez, though, has hit .318/.464/.614 with 3 home runs in 11 games total on the season. He likely won't take home any hardware because of the time missed, but it should go down as another impressive season.

It's not just the stats that has people in love with him. He has excellent strength and bat speed, allowing him to hit for both average and power from the left side of the plate, and rated #1 in each tool by Baseball America. He has a discerning eye at the plate(108 walks in 141 college games), and frankly, it's tough to find a flaw with him when he's in the batters box. His speed is merely average and he won't steal many bases, but he's efficient when he does and generally runs the bases wisely.

In the field, it's a bit of a different story. He's not a complete butcher at 3rd base like Ryan Braun, but there's a good chance he'll have to move off the position in the future. His elite bat will play anywhere, and the most likely destinations are 1B or a corner OF spot. He's a decent-but-not-great athlete with a pretty good arm. He can definitely stay at 3rd base for some time into his pro career, so it's not a huge worry for teams looking at him

Lastly, his outlook for if the Rays draft him: Longoria will be entrenched at 3B(and Evan is the superior defender anyway) and Carlos Pena at 1B, so Alvarez would likely have to move if he rakes his way to the majors as fast as most people expect. He'd come up through the system as a 3rd baseman, perhaps getting scattered at-bats at 1B and RF. The Rays also have the DH spot that they could use, and while Alvarez is adequate in the field, it's tough to take a guy #1 if you see his future at DH. Still, though, his bat is really something special and has to garner serious consideration for the top pick.

Monday: Pedro Alvarez

Tuesday: Aaron Crow

Wednesday: Brian Matusz

Thursday: Tim Beckham

Friday: Mock 1st round