Jim Bowden: Wil Myers call-up due within 10 days

ESPN's Jim Bowden went out on a limb and proposed that Wil Myers, your favorite 22 year old prospect, will be on his way to the Tampa Bay Rays in the very near future:

Rays getting closer to recalling Will Myers should happen within next 10 days

— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) June 9, 2013

That's all, just a fun fact. It's going to happen, and soon. His only other twitter activity from yesterday evening was a brief congratulations to the players drafted this weekend.

Jim has his sources I'm sure, but there's a few things to acknowledge before running away with this twitter report:

First, the Rays are likely being per cautious of the Super 2 date, a floating mid-year target based on the average time spent in the majors by minor league prospects during the season, which decides how long a prospect is under team salary control. If Myers is promoted before the to-be-determined Super 2 date, his salary would be under arbitration for the final four years of his contract, ending in 2019. If he is promoted after that date, which at this point seems to be a safe bet, then only his final three years' salary are eligible for arbitration.

As it should be noted, Myers was rated the #4 overall prospect in all of baseball by both Baseball America and MLB.com entering the 2013 season. Now that the Super 2 date has likely passed, this is only the beginning of the hype.

Second, the Rays beat writers are not as convinced as Bowden. Tampa Bay Times's Marc Topkin has stood firm by saying there have been no conversations on Myers between the team and the front office. None. This doesn't diminish Myers's opportunity, but it certainly doesn't sound like a pressing matter.

Third, Tampa Bay skipper Joe Maddon has preached from the beginning of the season that Myers's promotion would be a baseball-motivated decision. The salary considerations are nice, but the focus is on his development as a player. It's really that simple.

Other Considerations

As unlucky as the Rays had been in regards to injuries last season, the team has had few to speak of on the field. Impressive bats like Brandon Guyer, Shelley Duncan, Leslie Anderson and Wil Myers are all being held down in Durham while the major league offense has put up a best-in-baseball 125 wRC+ during the month of May. The Rays could allow an injury to force their hand on Myers, but even then his call up is not certain.

If there is no injury, the Rays would be faced with moving a piece from the current squad, and only Sean Rodriguez holds an option to be demoted to Triple-A. Anything short of a trip to the Disabled List for Kelly Johnson (tight back), or the Rays releasing a player -- the defensive poet Sam Fuld or slumping slugger Luke Scott come to mind -- the major league roster is likely to stay set in place.

It's possible that the Rays could trade a bench piece like 2B/3B Ryan Roberts for a fresh bullpen arm, but giving up a defensive replacement with a capable bat for an unknown player or pitcher has never been this team's style.

Could see Myers in the next ten days? Sure, but nothing is certain, and Bowden's reported time frame of ten days is by all accounts an assumption.

Meanwhile, the Rays put up eight runs in a four hit shut out of their division rivals, the red hot Orioles. After a dazzling pitching performance by consensus No.2 prospect Chris Archer on Friday night, the Rays will go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon at 1:40.

Context

If Myers were called up in the next ten days, he could find himself premiering against the organization that drafted, developed, and traded him for James Shields. After a three game set against the Red Sox at Tropicana Field, the Rays welcome the Kansas City Royals for a four game set. Fate is a funny thing.

Regardless, Myers has a chance at making heads turn in his pending promotion. After the aforementioned seven games, the Rays play three games in Boston and four at the Yanks. His next opportunity to premier for the home crowd would be the final week of June -- three games against Toronto and Detroit.

Bowden's tweet came fresh on the heels of Myers' second 2-homerun game of the season, with his second clearing the burm and landing in Louisville's left field parking lot.

Myers is batting .417 with seven home runs, twelve multi-base hits, and a .453 on base percentage since May 25. He has four strikeouts in the month of June.