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Who Am I?

By CasonJollette
Presswire

In doing some house cleaning over the weekend, I came across my collection of Baseball America Prospect Handbooks. I have always found it entertaining to go back and look at previous rankings or write-ups and thought you might as well.

Here are some quips from the players' writeups followed by a link to the player at the end. Each of these players were on the Rays' 40 man roster at one point in their career. See how many you can guess without peeking.....

Player 1:

  1. "He shows an excellent feel for a changeup that could become average with time."
  2. "The biggest concern is his undersized frame ..isn't the definition of projectable."
  3. "He surprises hitters with the way his fastball explodes and gets on top of them."
  4. He was ranked 19th in a organization in 2006. Who is he?
Player 2:
  1. "He looks for fastballs too often, contributing to his average of 129 strikeouts the last 3 seasons."
  2. "He is a good athlete who runs well enough to leg out doubles and steal an occasional base."
  3. "He is smart and has the character to be a clubhouse leader."
  4. He was ranked 1st in a organization in 2002. Who is he?
Player 3:
  1. "He doesn't play with much energy and displays an apathetic approach to improving his skills, particularly in controlling the strike zone."
  2. "He has plus-plus raw power and hit several tape measure shots last season, but has never hit more than 16 home runs in a season."
  3. "If he can show some maturity and improve his game, he has a chance to play in the big leagues for a long time."
  4. He was ranked 29th in an organization in 2008. Who is he?
Player 4:
  1. "A couple of years ago, the team thought he was one of the best young prospects in the organization until they found out he was actually four years older than his birth certificate said he was."
  2. "In two extensive stints in the major leagues, he has been hit hard because of poor pitch selection and location."
  3. "Though his fastball has plenty of heat, it's straight and arrives on a flat plane."
  4. He was ranked 16th in an organization in 2004. Who is he?
Player 5:
  1. "HIs low to mid-90's fastball has plus movement and complements his best pitch, a change-up"
  2. "His struggles came after the club asked him to reduce his full windup."
  3. "By adding a slider while discovering the nuances of pitching, he showed he can adjust."
  4. He was ranked 4th in an organization in 2003. Who is he?
Player 6:
  1. "He has more power than his frame suggests, with the ability to drive the ball from right-center field to the left-field line."
  2. "His swing stays on a level plane for a long time but it can get big diminishing his ability to hit for average."
  3. "He nearly won the triple crown as a senior in the Southland League and was its conference player of the year in 2003."
  4. He was ranked 26th in an organization in 2007. Who is he?
Player 7:
  1. "Nicknamed The Stallion, he's considered the hardest working pitcher in the system."
  2. "He has learned to locate his low to mid 90's fastball down in the zone before going to his hammer as his out pitch."
  3. "His changeup has improved but isn't quite up to major league standards."
  4. He was ranked 2nd in an organization in 2001. Who is he?
Player 8:
  1. "He is an aggressive hitter with outstanding hand-eye coordination and good strikezone judgment."
  2. "Scouts project him to eventually outgrow shortstop and move to third base."
  3. "His exceptional bat speed should produce plus power down the road."
  4. He was ranked 6th in an organization in 2005. Who is he?
Player 9:
  1. "The organization believes he will develop into an above-average hitter and produce more power as his body fills out."
  2. "He's an excellent low ball hitter and uses the whole field."
  3. "He is an excellent athlete for a catcher and also saw time at first base and even got in one game at shortstop."
  4. He was ranked 30th in 2005. Who is he?
Player 10:
  1. "He doesn't blow scouts away with any exceptional tools."
  2. "His value is almost entirely derived from his batting average as his contact approach diminishes his power potential and reduces his walks."
  3. He homered twice off Mark Prior in a 2001 College World Series game."
  4. He was ranked 12th in an organization in 2005. Who is he?

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