Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
April 10, 2007
Future Yankees?

Marc Hulet likes what he sees when the Devil Rays bat:

On thing that struck me while watching the game was that it felt like I was watching the New York Yankees bat when the Rays' heart of the lineup was at the plate. It was the same feeling that these guys were going to get a hit each time up to the plate and that it was going to take a miracle to get them out. Dukes played a big part in that with his more patient approach. They aren't there yet but Baldelli, Crawford, Young, Dukes and even B.J. Upton and Iwamura could one day strike fear in pitchers like Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui and Bobby Abreu
.

That's a pretty bold prediction. I still have my doubts are Baldelli and Crawford's ability to get on base. If they were going to be really outstanding, we would have seen it by now. But as for the other youngsters, the sky's the limit.


Posted by David Pinto at 10:35 AM | Team Evaluation | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Yeah, little old OBP is where the Rays-Yanks comparison really crumbles. So far this year it's .323 vs. 362, similar to last year's 49-point gap.

On the upside, Dukes and Iwamura have a history of at least some patience at the plate, though Dukes is not known for patience off the field. Maybe their (on-field) example will rub off on the other guys. But the overall lineup has to get much more selective before the comparison to the Yanks makes much sense.

Posted by: Casey Abell at April 10, 2007 10:57 AM

I think Evan Longoria maybe the best hitter of them all, when its all said and done.

The difference between what the Yanks and Devil Rays are doing though is laughable. Tampa Bay has essentially grown all of these guys from within, the Yanks have bought nearly all on the FA market.

I agree about Baldelli and to a lesser degree Crawford. At age 24, Crawford has seen his OBP & OPS increase each year in the majors, while averaging better than 54 steals a year in the majors.

Posted by: Raff at April 10, 2007 11:39 AM

Future Yankees is right -- just as soon as they hit free agency.

Posted by: cwp at April 10, 2007 12:39 PM

I've been sold for about a year now: The Devil Rays are the most fun low budget team in baseball to watch. Exciting young players with huge upside. Plus, there's always the chance that you might catch a Dukes/Young/Upton freakout.

It is about time, though, that they traded one of those outfielders for another starting pitcher to go with Kazmir and the potentially-good Shields.

Posted by: josh at April 10, 2007 12:39 PM
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