RAYS MINOR-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Numbers Are Stacked Against Draft Picks
Published: Jun 11, 2007
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TAMPA - For most of the 50 players selected by the Devil Rays during the amateur draft Thursday and Friday, it only seemed as if the dream came true.
In truth, for the vast majority, this foray into a career as a professional baseball player will end without having so much as gazed upon the underside of the dome at Tropicana Field.
It's about attrition. It's about politics. It's about right place, right time. The numbers are not in their favor.
The Rays signed 305 of the 636 players they drafted from 1996 to 2006. Of those 305 signees, 31 (10.2 percent) have played in the majors for the Rays.
Another way to look at it: 4.9 percent of the players drafted by the Rays prior to this year have actually become major-leaguers with Tampa Bay. Which means, statistically, only two or three of the 50 players selected last week will one day be able to call Carl Crawford "teammate."
The odds favor some players more than others, of course. First-round pick David Price, for instance, is about as close to a lock to someday pitch for the Rays as any player the Rays have selected.
First, though - and Price made it clear he understands this - he'll have to serve his minor-league apprenticeship. That means long bus rides, clubhouse cold cuts and all the other "amenities" he'll find down on the farm.
Before that, though, executive vice president Andrew Friedman will gather his staff - front office personnel, player development personnel, scouts - and hammer out a plan.
"What we want to do is first sign him and get him into the system," Friedman said, "and then, collectively with our scouting department and player development staff, sit down and map out that plan for him on things he needs to work on."
The same could be said for all of the Rays draftees. Once they're signed, they'll join the organization's extended spring training at the Naimoli Complex in St. Petersburg.
From there, they'll join other players already in extended spring on the trip north to either Rookie League Princeton (W.Va.) or short-season Single-A Hudson Valley (N.Y.).
Princeton begins its season June 21; Hudson Valley opens two days earlier.
That's not much time to make the mental transition to professional ballplayer. Some of the recent draftees need to brace themselves for the shock of their young lives.
"We got about five high school pitchers [Friday] that we fully intend to sign and get into Princeton," scouting director R.J. Harrison said.
Where those players and their fellow draftees go from there isn't entirely up to them. One of the toughest lessons they'll need to learn - and they'll learn it quickly, if they want to find success in this business - is patience.
"You always want guys who want to continue to be challenged and get to that next level," Friedman said. "In most instances, the players themselves always believe they're ready for that next challenge maybe before we are. In some instances, not. It's one of those things where we'll see where we're at when we get him in."
MINOR NUGGETS: Triple-A Durham RHP Jeff Niemann is third in the International League with 71 strikeouts, four behind teammate Jason Hammel. … Hammel is second in the league in innings pitched (76 1/3 ), while Niemann is seventh (70). … Double-A Montgomery RHP Chris Mason, Tampa Bay's second-round pick in 2005, is 8-2 with a 2.96 ERA in 13 starts. He's third in the Southern League with 68 strikeouts, and he leads the league in victories. … Single-A Vero Beach RHP Wade Davis is third in the Florida State League with a 1.88 ERA in 12 starts, yet he has only three decisions (3-0). … Montgomery C John Jaso, a .295 hitter in four minor-league seasons prior to this year, is fifth in the Southern League with a .333 batting average. … Montgomery 3B Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay's first-round pick in '06, leads the Southern League with 14 home runs and is second in RBIs with 46.
Reporter Carter Gaddis can be reached at (813) 259-8291 or igaddis@tampatrib.com.
