2010 Tampa Bay Rays Top 20 Prospects in Review
Here is a review of the 2010 Rays prospect list, originally published January 13, 2010. THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE OLD LIST AND PRE-SEASON GRADES. THIS IS NOT A NEW LIST. The 2011 list and new grades won't be ready until the season is over and I start writing the book.
1) Desmond Jennings, OF, Grade A: .290/.361/.418, 32 steals for Triple-A Durham. Improved after a slow start, not a lot of power but speed is still there. I still like him but stock has dropped a bit.
2) Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, Grade A-: 2.45 ERA, 123/35 K/BB in 118 innings for Durham. Brilliant in his first three major league starts. The funny thing is that I think he's still underrated by some folks.
3) Wade Davis, RHP, Grade A-: 4.45 ERA, 77/48 K/BB in 121 innings, 123 hits for the Rays. I think he can, and will, do better.
4) Matt Moore, LHP, Grade B+: 3.67 ERA, 182/59 K/BB in 128 innings for High-A Charlotte, 99 hits. Amazing K/IP ratio, hard to hit, command coming around. 95/21 K/BB in last 61 innings.
5) Alex Colome, RHP, Grade B: 3.69 ERA, 107/40 K/BB in 107 innings for Low-A Bowling Green, 90 hits. A few command issues but a pretty solid season.
6) Reid Brignac, SS, Grade B-: .259/.311/.389 in 247 at-bats for the Rays. Not a great season with the stick, but I expect he will be around for a long time.
7) Alexander Torres, LHP, Grade B-: 3.55 ERA, 119/60 K/BB in 119 innings for Double-A Montgomery, 115 hits, 1.67 GO/AO. Walk rate is too high, but strikeouts/grounders point to his potential.
8) Tim Beckham, SS, Grade B-: .252/.345/.357 for Charlotte, 20 steals, 55 walks, 110 strikeouts in 401 at-bats. Lots of debate about him of course. Although he's hit .286 in the second half, improvements are actually pretty marginal. He's still just 20 and no one complains about his work ethic, but his grade continues to slip.
9) Nick Barnese, RHP, Grade B-: 3.02 ERA, 100/26 K/BB in 122 innings, 114 hits for Charlotte. Great year.
10) Wilking Rodriguez, RHP, Grade B-: 4.44 ERA, 87/25 K/BB in 97 innings, 101 hits for Bowling Green. Not a great year, but his K/BB is pretty good.
11) Luke Bailey, C, Grade C+: .157/.276/.287 for the GCL Rays, 33 games, 108 at-bats. Impossible to spin as anything but a disaster statistically, but we'll see how he does next year further removed from the injury.
12) Kyle Lobstein, LHP, Grade C+: 4.43 ERA, 105/44 K/BB in 126 innings for Bowling Green, 126 hits. Not terrific, not awful, no change in grade for me.
13) Aneury Rodriguez, RHP, Grade C+: 3.70 ERA, 81/45 K/BB in 100 innings for Montgomery and Durham, 93 hits. No change, still a C+ type but still has some surprise potential.
14) Kyeong Kang, OF, Grade C+: Seems to have misplaced his bat'leth, hitting just .248/.331/.329 for Charlotte. Power vanished.
15) Matthew Sweeney, 1B, Grade C+: .264/.345/.488 in 34 games for Charlotte, then .196/.263/.276 in 46 games for Montgomery, struggling with Double-A transition. Now on the DL with elbow problems.
16) Todd Glaesman, OF, Grade C+: .226/.293/.398 with 11 walks, 55 strikeouts in 186 at-bats for Princeton in the Appy League. He's got good tools, but his approach stinks right now.
17) Alex Cobb, RHP, Grade C+: 2.63 ERA, 99/27 K/BB in 99 innings for Montgomery, 108 hits. Throws strikes, gets grounders, good strikeout rate.
18) Jake McGee, LHP, Grade C+: 3.32 ERA with 112/34 K/BB in 95 innings between Montgomery and Durham, 84 hits. He's fully healthy again and the results are obvious; stock way up.
19) David Newmann, LHP, Grade C+: 4.58 ERA, 78/44 K/BB in 112 innings for Montgomery, 135 hits, 1.78 GO/AO. Not a great year, but I still think he's a sleeper.
20) Matt Gorgen, RHP, Grade C+: 1.93 ERA, 40/20 K/BB in 42 innings for Montgomery, 19 saves, 30 hits. On DL with "biceps tendinitis."
I loved this system pre-season and I still do. The pitching factory keeps churning out arms. They need to add some hitting to that, but the 2010 draft class should help. I hope Hellickson stays under 50 innings, as I really want to put him in the 2011 book.
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