Like I promised, here is Keith Law’s top 100 prospects. A whopping 6 Rays made his top 100 list, compared to only four from the AOL Fanhouse list. Desmond Jennings is the only in the top 10 at 6. Wade Davis is at 15, Jeremy Hellickson is at 17 and Tim Beckham at 29 to round out the Rays in the top 50. Matt Sweeney, who came over in the Scott Kazmir deal and could be the Rays first baseman in a couple years, came in at 68. Matt Moore made the list as the final Ray at 81. Read the rest of this entry »

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo came out with his top 50 prospects list. His list looks a lot different from MLB Fanhouse’s list I published the other day. The Rays had four prospects in the top 50. Desmond Jennings is ranked at #6, Wade Davis at 13, Jeremy Hellickson at 20 and Tim Beckham at 24. I think Mayo is too high on Davis and Beckham and underrating DJ and Hellickson.

I tend to agree with the Fanhouse list more than this one. ESPN’s Keith Law’s list will be released today, and I will post it here. It will be interesting to see what Law has to say.

 
The San Diego News Network has a follow-up story posted about the fatal auto accident involving Rays pitching prospect Andrew Bellati.  SDNN spoke with Bellati’s agent, Jonathon Weisz, who shared the following:

“He’s devastated.  His parents are devastated. I was with his parents [Monday]and to see his mother and father, they’re devastated because they understand that two families’ lives have changed forever.”

According to the story, charges are still pending against Bellati.  As mentioned previously, his speed has been estimated as high as 80 mph when he crossed the double-yellow line and struck a mini-van head-on, killing the driver and seriously injuring the driver’s son.

In an official statement from the Rays, they too are taking a wait-and-see approach before commenting further on the tragedy.

video:  Fox5 San Diego

MLB Fanhouse ranked their top 100 MLB prospects yesterday. The Rays prospects are getting more love in these lists as spring training goes forward. Three Rays made the top 25, with two in the top ten. Desmond Jennings was ranked at 3, Jeremy Hellickson was at 10, and Wade Davis was at 17. Tim Beckham, the only other Ray in the top 100 was at 77.

Here is what they had to say about Jennings:

You can talk about Jennings’ outstanding five-tool abilities, and, yes, they are very impressive. But what makes him so fascinating is his combination of those tools and his rapidly improving instincts and feel at the plate. This is a player that’s going to hit for a very high average, and has skills at the plate that resemble Yankees’ legend Derek Jeter.

You know you are doing something right when you are being compared to Derek Jeter before you ever play a game in the Major Leagues. The only potential problems DJ could have is if the injury bug bites him again to set back his path to the big leagues.

Hellickson:

Perhaps the most universally underappreciated pitching prospect in the minors, Hellickson has almost silently moved his way up the ladder. He has the potential for three above-average pitches and has pinpoint command that stacks up with any pitcher on this list. He’s undersized, about the only thing a critic could point to, and could be a factor for the Rays in 2010.

And finally, here is what they said about Davis:

The Rays are a player-development machine, and Davis is yet another example of that. He has front-of-the-rotation-type stuff and showed it with some strong performances down the stretch with the big-league club. He could be a major factor for them out of spring training this year.

I have to agree with everything they have to say. All three have the potential to be big league stars in the not so distant future.

As I mentioned yesterday, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo suggested that the Rays might trade Carlos Pena and/or Carl Crawford.  He lazily reasoned that the Rays can’t afford the players and, therefore, will be forced to trade them.  I contend that it’s not uncommon for teams of all economic means to at least consider dealing their players as they approach free agency.

Let the blogging begin.

The Mets should want Carlos Pena.  That’s the theme of a post on Mets Merized Online.  Names tossed out there include Daniel Murphy, John Maine and the Fernados, Nieve and Martinez.  John Maine???  Would the Rays really need a starter just a hair over mediocre?

Then there’s Carl Crawford.  Who wouldn’t want CC?  All 29 teams should be able to close their eyes and come up with a place to put him and a package to try to make it work. 

In New York, Mike Silva feels the Yankees are absolutely in love with Carl and is relatively certain they will bring him to the Bronx next off-season.  In my mind, isn’t that even more reason to trade him elsewhere before the end of the season?  Economics or not, the Rays will not be able to compete with the Yankees in attempting to re-sign CC.  Very few teams can.  So, unless you love the draft picks you get when he signs elsewhere, you might as well trade him.  Better yet, to a team that has the potential to extend him and keep him away from the grubby hands of the Yanks.

How about Seattle?  Hawk Talk thinks so. 

A realistic package could consist of LF Michael Saunders, SS Carlos Truinfel, and P Shawn Kelley, maybe an additional prospect based on the potential bidding war that would ensure over Crawford at the trade deadline.

Writer Andy Auger goes slightly astray suggesting that the acquisition of Saunders gives the Rays “a new left field prospect to replace Crawford”.  But, isn’t that where Desmond Jennings fits in?

These are just a few examples.  No doubt, there will be more.  As bloggers speculate at what it will take, they should recognize what the Rays need.  A top-shelf catcher is a good place to start.

To open, here’s this from the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo:

“The feeling is that if the Rays’ financial picture gets any gloomier, (Carl) Crawford will be trade bait by the trading deadline or even earlier. In fact, both he and Carlos Pena could have new addresses at some point in the season.”

This isn’t news.  Cafardo must have needed to fill space.  Although, I’m still not certain trading either one of those guys would indicate financial doom and gloom.  At least in the case of CC, many would agree that he might be the most pursued free agent next off-season. 

For argument sake, let’s just say Desmond Jennings has a similar start at Durham as he had last season.  Wouldn’t it make good baseball sense to entertain replacing CC with DJ and collecting whatever Crawford would bring in a trade? 

***

Hal Bodley has a nice piece on Don Zimmer for MLB.com.  When spring training opens, it will mark his 62nd straight year pulling on a baseball jersey.  So, what keeps him going?

“You’ve got to have special people that keep bringing me back. And that’s what I have with the Rays.”

***

Rays prospect Andrew Bellati was seriously injured in a two-car accident near San Diego.  The crash, which appears to place Bellati at fault, killed the driver of the other vehichle and seriously injured one passenger in each car.  According to California Highway Patrol, the speedometer on Bellati’s 2007 Mustang was stuck on 80 mph.

The first pitch hasn’t been thrown, yet Bert Blyleven, writing a piece for MSNBC.com, has written off the Rays in the AL East. 

The World Series champion New York Yankees should be as good as ever, and the Boston Red Sox will be right in the mix, too. The Rays are still the potential third contender among the other AL East teams is the Rays, but they will need to stay healthy and have a lot of things to go right.

Is that a fair assessment? 

To say that the Rays, or any team for that matter, must stay healthy is an obvious one.  The Yankees would be a different team if CC Sabathia or Derek Jeter were to come up lame. 

Within Blyleven’s team-by-team analysis, he seems to hit on the main points of the Rays.  I do disagree a little with his assessment of an “inexperienced” bullpen.  With Dan Wheeler, JP Howell and Grant Balfour at the back-end of the ‘pen leading up to Rafael Soriano, it seems like they have pitched in a few big games over the past couple of years. 

Overall, probably not a bad assessment.  The starting pitching will need to improve, or pitch to their potential, to surpass the Yankees and Red Sox.  I’m just not sure that’s much of a stretch.   I’m just not sure I’m ready to write off the season already.

The Rays may have a new bullpen option who just became available. The Pirates designated Steven Jackson for assignment yesterday, according to MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch.

He is a very intriguing bullpen guy.  He is only 27.   Last year, in his rookie season, he posted a great 3.14 ERA in 43 innings.   Hitters hit .236 off of him.

Jackson would be a cheap option for the last spot in the Rays bullpen who had some success last year.  The biggest question would be whether the Rays would be willing to tie up a 40-man roster spot with him. 

There are still some good options available through free agency, like Kiko Calero, Santiago Casilla and Will Ohman.  But, those types of relievers will cost a little money.

The Rays could still go the route of filling the spot from within with guys like Winston Abreu or Dale Thayer.

It’s out there.  The Rays are interested in Jim Thome.  The left-handed platoon for Pat Burrell at DH.  For as good as Thome might be for the clubhouse, I’m not buying it.

Give me Miguel Tejada anyday.  The second base situation for the Rays is unsettled.  Why not consider Tejada there?  Of course, he’s never played second base.  But, he’s never played third base either, and many think that’s where he might end up for his new team.  If that’s the case, why not consider him at the other middle infield position?

Sure, it’s a risk.  Jon Heyman of SI.com has him as the second best remaining free agent behind Johnny Damon.  But, there’s still no mention of second base.  

I acknowledge that there’s no reports that the Rays are interested.  But why not?

Coming into the 2010 season, Tejada will be only 36.  He’s coming off a season with the Houston Astros where he hit .313 with 46 doubles and 86 RBI.  Can you imagine a batting order where he’s hitting in the 6 or 7 spot?  If the price is right, that offensive lineup is every bit as good as to compete for the top spot in the American League East.

Words I never thought I’d read.  Anywhere.

The loss of the Gabe (Gross, that is) has dimished (sic) the Rays’ depth greatly.

Well, that’s the opinion of Robert Cox on Fanhuddle.com.   At that level of importance, it’s hard to believe that the other Gabe hasn’t been snatched up by any of the other 29 teams in baseball as we move closer to the beginning of spring training.

Yet, as I read the post, there’s no mention of Matt Joyce.  Not one.  I guess it’s apparent that this writer discounts the value of the guy the Rays got for Edwin Jackson.  But, at the very least, doesn’t he at least deserve consideration for matching the numbers produced by Gross?

***

Anyone think Miguel Tejada could play second base?  Here’s what the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo had to say about the yet unsigned free agent:

Someone is going to get a .300 hitter who can drive the ball into the gaps, play every day, and be a good clubhouse presence. And they’re going to get him for a year or two at little money.

***

And finally, we were willing to overlook Rocco Baldelli in a Red Sox uniform to continue to applaud his time in Tampa Bay.  Will Rays fans be as forgiving if he trades in the Sox jersey for the pinstripes of the Yankees?  Talk about taking a tour of Rays rivals.