The Rays have signed a bunch of their later round draft picks one week after the 2009 amateur draft. So far they have locked down 14 draft picks from rounds 12 or later. All of their signees have been collegiate players, which shows a commitment to players that have developed experience against top-quality young players. I’ve always been of the mindset that the difference between the high school competition vs. collegiate competition is far greater than the difference between collegiate and professional.

Tags: draft picks, tampa bay rays

The Rays looked like they were going to pull off another victory over the division rival New York Yankees, but the bullpen imploded in the 8th inning and blew a 2 run lead as the Yankees came away with the 4-3 win. Grant Balfour recorded just 1 out while surrendering 3 earned runs to the Yankees. His ERA is now at 6.31. Ben Zobrist was 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts, while Carl Crawford was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. I think it’s usually a bad sign when Carl Crawford starts to hit a few home runs, because he tends to spend the next month trying to be Babe Ruth. I want to give him the “Willie Mays Hayes Talk” from Major League. “You should be hitting the ball on the ground and running them out. Every time you pop one up you owe me 20 pushups”. Crawford means a lot more to this team as a contact hitter with lots of speed than a slugger who strikes out a lot.

Tags: ben zobrist, carl crawford, new york yankees, tampa bay rays, willie mays hayes

The amateur draft is just 8 days away, and the Rays have the 30th, 78th, and 108th picks, along with the 28th pick in each round after that. They are looking for a catcher, and Tony Sanchez from Boston College might be the right fit. He’s solid defensively, but there are some questions about his hitting. He’s got quick hands but is somewhat lacking in the power department. I’m not a hitting guru, but I can see some problems in his swing from the clip below. I’d like to see his back elbow stay a little bit more “tucked” into his side. Extending it gives him a very “armsy” swing, which is probably why he struggles to drive the ball far. He’ll also want to work on not dropping the barrel down and dragging it through the zone, as the smaller sweetspot on a wood bat will punish him for that if he doesn’t make perfect contact.

Tags: baseball, draft, tampa bay rays, tony sanchez