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.
