Surplus
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by user Tylersarticles
- Note: This article was originally posted at tylersarticles.blogspot and mvn.com during Spring Training. A lot has happened since this this article was written. B.J. Upton is now the starting second baseman. Rocco Baldelli is still the centerfielder, but Elijah Dukes will play there during the opening series against the Yankees. He belted his first career homerun in his first official at bat in Monday's loss. Dukes will still fill the 4th outfielder role when Baldelli's hamstring is ready to go. Greg Norton was expected to be the everyday designated hitter, but he recently had knee surgery and will be out 4-6 weeks. Jonny Gomes and Dukes will see the majority of at bats in that role until Norton returns. According to Joe Maddon, Upton will still see some time in centerfield where he saw about half of his innings during Spring Training. Ty Wiggington and Brendan Harris will fill in at second base in that scenario.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are in a shortage of quality starting pitching, but they have more talented young outfielders than there are Starbucks in St. Petersburg. Considering there is basically a Starbucks on every street corner nowadays, you may think I am joking, but I am surprisingly not. The Rays have six potential All Star outfielders in camp this spring, but there are only four Starbucks locations in St. Pete.
Clearly, the Rays top outfield prospect right now is Delmon Young. Young, the Rays first overall pick in the 2004 draft, is best known to most moderate baseball fans simply as the guy that threw the bat at the umpire. Still, some scouts are calling him the right handed version of a young Ken Griffey Jr. Will he end up being that good? Probably not, but the possibility alone gives all Devil Rays something to smile about, a rarity in the past 10 years. Young is the consensus top prospect in baseball for a variety of respected baseball publications and is a strong candidate for the American League ROY. To do so, Young needs to become a more selective hitter, adjust his attitude off the field, and feed off the other young talent surrounding him in the clubhouse this year.
Most baseball fans know about Carl Crawford, the triples and stolen base king, who would be a marquee player nationally if he wasn't playing in such a small market. In my opinion, Crawford is going to have his best season yet in 2007 because he looks ready to hit for more power. Also, Crawford will have a better lineup around him to work with which will improve his RBI and runs totals. Rocco Baldelli is finally healthy and will be a mainstay in centerfield. The Baldelli, Crawford, Young trio will roam Tropicana Field this year and now give the Devil Rays one of the most formidable outfields in all of baseball.
But what about the other young outfielders that need to play? Do you send them to Durham to receive at bats?
I personally think B.J. Upton is going to end up playing centerfield in the long run. I also think he will be a star there for many years. In 2007, will Upton get the innings he needs playing in a utility/Chone Figgins role? Upton needs his at bats, will get them, but not having a set position could severely hurt his development as a player for the long term. Why not make room for him now?
Then, there is Elijah Dukes. Dukes is arguably the most talented outfield prospect in the organization, but his off the field issues have raised eyebrows too many times. Amazingly, for someone with Dukes talent, he is not even in Baseball America's list of Top 50 prospects. Dukes will most certainly make the club out of spring training, but will see a limited role as a reserve outfielder. With the logjam the Devil Rays have in their outfield, will Dukes ever get the opportunity to play everyday?
Then you have to think about other position players that could play the outfield among other positions this year.
Jonny Gomes is a primary outfielder, but could just throw his glove out for this year because the only role he will be filling is as the designated hitter. Akinori Iwamura is a solid defensive infielder, but has the versatility to play the outfield as well. Greg Norton could fill in at a corner outfield spot, but will platoon in the DH role with Gomes.
The Devil Rays have six legitimate outfielders, but, arguably, only have one legitimate starting pitcher. Why not make a move for a pitcher using any of the following outfielders as bait? Their philosophy is to generate pitching internally, but as it has not worked in the past, and I don't think it will now either. A talent like Scott Kazmir is few and far between as far as pitchers go. Even more so for the Rays, an organization whose first round pitchers over the past ten seasons have combined to win just 23 games at the big league level for the team. With the majority of their prospects making the major league minimum, Baldelli and Crawford locked up for a few more years, it is time to make a deal for some pitching. Honestly, with the inflated market, what are the chances they resign any of their outfielders in three of four years anyway? Don't even mention Kazmir. If Crawford was a free agent this off season, he would be expecting similar money to Gary Matthews Jr. (10 million a year) and Kazmir would be worth more than twice as much as overpaid Kansas City Royal, Gil Meche.
It's nice to think about Kazmir, Jeff Niemann, Mich Talbot and the current outfield bringing post season baseball to Interstate 275 in the next five years, but odds are, the nucleus they are building the organization around, will not be in tact any way because of logistics.
Where will Kazmir be in 2010? What about Rocco Baldelli? Upton? I hope they will be Rays, but unless there are drastic changes financially, the Rays will not have the funds to keep any of these players. Can you say Montreal Expos of the early 1990s?
There is no question, the surplus of outfielders need to be dealt with in a way that is beneficial to the goals of the organization. The Rays need to take risks, but they can only go up from the point they are at now. Right now, as the laughing stock of the AL East, they have nothing to lose. However, they could gain more credibility with their fans and people in the Tampa Bay area by attracting another front line starter by giving up an Baldelli or an Upton. This will let Rays fans know that management is serious about the future, but also the present and will help increase the crowds at the Trop.
Imagine if Josh Hamilton was having the same spring he is having with the Reds for the Devil Rays. The government might intervene for a monopoly of outfield talent.
