Tampa Bay Will Have Its Day

For all those excited about the new arrival of all the young pitching talent to the American League East, not only must you include Tampa Bay’s pitching youth into the conversation, but names like Kazmir, Shields, Garza, and Price should begin to be major topics of discussion. It is not my goal to take anything away from the trio of Yankee phenoms Phil Hughes (age 21), Joba Chamberlain (22), and Ian Kennedy (23) or Boston’s young tandem of John Lester (24) and Clay Buchholz (23), but rather to highlight the often unseen flow of truly gifted hurlers in their early twenties into the rotations of the other AL East teams, more specifically to Tampa Bay. The Rays’ scouting continues to amaze me year after year with the quality and quantity of prospects they continue to produce and bring into Major League Baseball.


The clear-cut Ace of the Tampa staff is 24 year old strikeout artist, Scott Kazmir. In his three full seasons as a staple of the Tampa rotation, the lefty has not finished with an ERA above 3.77. Keep in mind his age and the caliber of hitting he is called upon to face night in and night out. He pitches for a team that sees the high-powered Yankees, Red Sox, and Blue Jays lineups between 17 and 20 times apiece each year. Also, Kazmir needs to earn every out he records since he pitches in the hitting frenzy that is the American League. Thanks to the DH travesty, he faces pitchers in only about ten to fifteen at-bats each year during inter-league play.


Behind Kazmir is 26 year old righty James Shields who is now under the Ray’s control for the next four years due to the four year deal the sides agreed on this past winter. The contract includes three club options following the four guaranteed years and could push the total value of the contract to $44 million. Shields is coming off a season in which he started 31 games totaling 215 innings, showing signs of great durability. He finished with an ERA of just 3.85 while punching out 186 and walking just 36.


Also in the rotation is 24 year old hard throwing righty Matt Garza. Garza, acquired in a trade in the offseason with the Twins for OF Delmon Young and IF Brendan Harris, cruises with an electric fastball that reaches 96-97 mph. To complement his heat, Garza’s repertoire features a devastating 12 to 6 curve with a hard break. He can get batters to chase this breaking ball, or locate it for a strike. Garza can use either of these two pitches effectively as strikeout pitches to keep hitters guessing in any count. Garza finished 2007 with a 3.69 ERA in 16 games, 15 of which he started.


At some point in the next two years, this star-studded rotation will also feature left-hander David Price, who last season broke his own all-time, single-season strikeout record at Vanderbilt with 199. Price, 22, has an immediate edge on opposing hitters due to his imposing 6’6”, 225-pound frame. He was the first overall pick in the 2007 First Year Player Draft and is currently sidelined with an elbow strain that is not being described as serious. However, Price’s fastball this spring in Major League camp was clocked at 99 mph. Keep in mind, pitchers do not fully build up their arm strength until several weeks or even months into the regular season. In other words, a rusty 22 year old threw 99 mph while nowhere near the top of his game. This kid will continue to impress with dominant stuff comparable to that of the healthy Randy Johnson of old. Remember him?

I project the rotation of the future for the Rays to also include 25 year old right hander Jason Hammel. Hammel’s extensive repertoire includes a fastball that tops out in the low 90’s in addition to a big, deceptive curveball that arrives around 75-76 mph. He often freezes hitters with this pitch for strike three. He also incorporates an off-speed pitch that has a sharper, harder movement to it as it approaches the plate at around 82 or 83 mph. Hammel, like Price, sports and intimidating 6’6” frame. Right handers Edwin Jackson and Andy Sonnanstine are also options for the theoretical fifth rotation spot, but Jackson has struggled mightily with control problems and Sonnanstine has good movement on his pitches, but lacks velocity and surrenders home runs at an astonishingly high rate. Imagine having a rotation than boasts four legitimate aces. In the coming years, the worst part of manager Joe Maddon’s job is going to be informing one of the group that includes Kazmir, Shields, Garza, or Price that he is the team’s fourth starter. What a luxury to have.


The Rays' days in the basement are officially done, at least for quite a while. There's no room for them there anymore with the push that the Orioles are making for that fifth spot in the AL East, as their young ace Jeremy Guthrie will attempt to carry a substandard rotation that invariably will garner no run support. The rotation also features left-hander Adam Loewen, who on his best day shows some promise, the historically underachieving Daniel Cabrera, with whom the organization is growing impatient, the 37 year old "Human Rain Delay" named Steve Trachsel, and Brian Burres... Ever heard of him? Neither has anyone else.

Tampa's offense could outperform that of the Blue Jays if Vernon Wells' and Lyle Overbay's numbers continue to drop and if Scott Rolen continues to watch from the waiting room of doctor's office, as appears will be the case. Most importantly, on the mound, the Rays' pitching will be shutting down offenses night in and night out for years to come. With that kind of pitching and their blossoming young offensive talent, anything can happen, and I do mean anything. You heard it here first, Tampa will edge Boston and the declining Yanks for the AL East Crown in '08 if the rotation stays healthy.

On the Side

Over the past ten years, the Tampa Bay front office has scouted and acquired Outfielders Josh Hamilton, Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton, and Delmon Young. Each of these players is (or in Baldedlli’s case, has been) hailed as a five-tool, impact player. Infielders Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria (another five-tool draftee), and Pitchers Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, and David Price have also been acquired by the club’s top flight general management and scouting executives.

Of the aforementioned players, Hamilton, Baldelli, Crawford, Upton, Young, Longoria, Shields, and Price were drafted by the team. Crawford, Upton, Pena, Longoria, Kazmir, Shields, Garza, and Price remain with the organization, while Hamilton has turned his career around with a strong first half performance last year in Cincinnati and earned a starting job in center field for the Texas Rangers. Baldelli was released by the Rays last week due to a mitochondrial disorder that causes the former center-fielding prospect to experience constant fatigue. If this health issue is resolved, the Rays plan to begin contract negotiations with Baldelli for a second stint with the team. Young was moved along with IF Brendan Harris for Garza and SS Jason Bartlett in an offseason trade to the Minnesota Twins, where Young currently occupies Left Field in an every-day role.