Filed under: MLB Draft | Tags: Buster Posey, MLB Draft, Reid Brignac, Tampa Bay Rays, Tim Beckham
The MLB first-year player draft is this week (June 5th to be exact). And while the draft order is set, the selections are far from a lock. The most interesting pick will be what the Tampa Bay Devil Rays do with the number one pick. As of today the upstart Rays are leading the AL East (the Red Sox are one game back) and with the large group of young talent they’ve drafted recently (including 2002 No. 2 overall selection B.J. Upton, 2006 No. 3 Evan Longoria, and 2007 No. 1 David Price), along with young talent they’ve acquired (2005 No. 25 Matt Garza (Twins), 2002 No. 15 Scott Kazmir (Mets)) they figure to be picking in the later stages of the first round for years to come.
There aren’t many positions where the Rays don’t already have a talented young player plugged into their lineup or have one in the minors waiting for a call-up. Keith Law thinks the Rays are deciding between Florida State catcher Bustery Posey and Tim Beckham, a high school shortstop from Georgia. While Beckham is said to be the most talented player in the draft, the Rays do have 2004 second round pick Reid Brignac in AAA (as well as Jason Bartlett).
The one spot the Rays could use help with immediately is catcher. While Dioner Navarro is playing well, he’s also playing above his head (Navarro doesn’t have enough at bats to qualify, but his .406 BABIP is nineteen points higher than AL leader Milton Bradley). Posey has upside (though not as much as Beckham) and will contribute sooner, rather than later. If the Rays believe they can contend over the next few seasons (and with the amount of young talent they have, they certainly can) and that Brignac is the future at shortstop Posey just might be the pick.
One final note: Paul DePodesta has written about the various front office duties leading up to the draft. Keep an eye on his site as he has promised to provide more insight into the draft from an insider’s prospective.
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