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USA Today Screws Up its 2008 Minor League Player of the Year Choice
In response to Monday's announcement of their 2008 Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America, USA Today followed suit earlier by naming Tampa Bay Rays lefthanded pitching prospect David Price as its 2008 MILB Player of the Year.
Price, the first overall pick in the 2007 draft out of Vanderbilt University, joins fellow Rays prospect Josh Hamilton (2000) in receiving the USA Today honor. Price, a 6'6" lefty, has drawn comparisons to Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, both in physical build, repetoire and delivery. Mixing a mid 90's fastball with a sharp slider, a la Carlton, Price made three stops in Tampa's minor league system, going a combined 12-1 with a 2.30 ERA with 109 strikeouts in 109.2 innings.
Price is currently in Triple A Durham, where he and his Bulls teammates are squaring off against the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees for the International League Championship. Price started last night's Game One, allowing four earned runs in his six innings of work with 9 K's in Durham's 8-7 loss.
With the series scheduled to end on September 13th if it goes the full five games, and with Price experiencing some elbow problems during spring training, it makes sense for him to be shut down at that point, although Rays VP of Player Development, Andrew Friedman, indicated a possible callup for the final two weeks is possible, with work out of the bullpen his temporary role.
Price is not scheduled to play in the Arizona Fall League, although he will report to Tampa's Instructional League camp in Florida the first two weeks of December.
