Baseball Prospectus' Rays' Top 11 Prospects

by R.J. Anderson on Dec 18, 2007 12:21 PM EST

Try typing that over and over again, anyhow here's Kevin Goldstein's top 11 Rays' prospects.

Five-Star Prospects

Evan Longoria, 3B
David Price, LHP
Wade Davis, RHP
Desmond Jennings, CF
Reid Brignac, SS

Four-Star Prospects
6. Jacob McGee, LHP
Three-Star Prospects

Eduardo Morlan, RHP
Jeff Niemann, RHP
Jeremy Hellickson, RHP
Fernando Perez, CF
Ryan Royster, OF

To be frank I'm a bit shocked at McGee's rank, and impressed that Desmond Jennings has jumped so high. I'm also a bit surprised that Hellickson is only a "three-star" prospect, I would make the case that you could rank him top five in the organization, although I suppose Brignac's rank is because of an overall weak shortstop world.

Also take a glance at Goldstein's comments on Longoria:

The Good: Longoria does everything well, and many things exceptionally so. He combines outstanding bat speed with brute strength, and is capable of going deep to any part of the ballpark without needing to make perfect contact. He also has the feel for hitting to project for a high average, and draws a fair share of walks. Defensively, he shows good instincts and a plus arm. His makeup is outstanding, and he seems to gear up in clutch situations.
The Bad: Anything here is nitpicking. Right-handed pitchers found some success in pitching Longoria outside, and he needs to refine his pitch selection. He's an average runner that some feel could lose his speed quickly and force a move to left field or first base.

The interesting part that I hadn't heard of would be him potentially moving to left or first base - of course "some" may actually be scouts who misjudged Longoria's skill set, but interesting - and somewhat concerning - at the same time.

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Re: Baseball Prospectus' Rays' Top 11 Prospects

Anyone with a BP subscription want to paraphrase why McGee is ranked so low? Honestly, I like him about as much as Price, if only for his ceiling...

by Overman42 on Dec 18, 2007 12:57 PM EST 0 recs

Re: Baseball Prospectus' Rays' Top 11 Prospects

Essentially they say his fastball is his only plus pitch and his command isn't consistent while working up in the zone.

by R.J. Anderson on Dec 18, 2007 12:59 PM EST up 0 recs

Re: Baseball Prospectus' Rays' Top 11 Prospects

He also says that his curve tends to flatten and he has poor arm action on his changeup which he telegraphs.

McGee is young and extraordinarily talented, so there is no I won't rereason to be pessimistic about him, but there is a chance that he ends up as a closer, certainly if his off-speed stuff does not improve.

Goldstein's summary comments are very complimentary. Here is a sample:

"That, folks, is a borderline obnoxious collection of excellent young talent. Kazmir began to pitch like an ace last year, and the fact that he's still young enough to quality for this list makes that fact all the more terrifying....

The Tampa Bay system goes further than just the 11 listed here. It's deep and talented, among the best in baseball, if not simply the best."

Incidentally, in his list of the top 10 players under 25, he lists McGee at #10 and Navarro at #9.

by bobr on Dec 18, 2007 1:09 PM EST up 0 recs