Marc Topkin is reporting the Rays will select Tim Beckham with the #1 overall selection in today’s MLB Draft.
The Rays will take Griffin (Ga.) High SS Tim Beckham with the top pick in today’s draft.
The Rays on Wednesday said they had narrowed the field to Beckham and Florida State catcher Buster Posey.
Beckham, 18, is an athletic, five-tools type of player projected by many scouts to be a future star, possibly along the lines of current Rays CF B.J. Upton, or his brother Justin, a RF with the Diamondbacks.
June 5th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Great Decision. People can say all they want about how Posey will be an All-Star, how he’ll be ready for the show by 2010, and how he is like a Jason Varitek or Jorge Posada but Beckham is the right choice. Beckham has star power and although comparing him to the Upton brothers is a stretch, you should ALWAYS, ALWAYS draft the BEST PLAYER and not the need player. Four years down the road when we may lose Bartlett, I expect Beckham to be ready at the latest. Beckham is no Matt Bush, he is more of a Hanley Ramirez. Its about sustaining success and with Beckham we can do that.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:03 am
yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!
Catchers aren’t #1 material, I don’t care who you are…
June 5th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I thought that the pick would be between these 2 guys for a while. And while Posey is the better player right now, it’s hard to say no to a kid who some people think could be a righty-only version of Jimmy Rollins, with a little more power. I like the pick, and can’t wait to see what the kid can do right away. Chances are that he’ll start in Columbus, and slowly work his way up the system. Usually, with high school kids, they’ll start them below High-A. If he does well in Columbus for the 1st month, then maybe he’ll end the year in Vero Beach. With high school kids, it’s tougher for the organization to try to rush them through the system. Start him out in Columbus, and maybe he’ll be ready by 2011-just in time for us to be ready with enough leadership around him, so he can help us win our 3rd World Series. Wishful thinking on my part, possibly.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
i TIHNK THEY WILL START HIM AT hUDSON vALLEY, AND MAYBE END AT C-BUS…
THEN PLAY AT C-BUS MOST OF NEXT SEASON…
ETA 2011 OR 2012- MAYBE HE WILL BE OPENING DAY SS IN THE NEW BALL PARK… =)
June 5th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
What kind of crap is MLB doing???? On the MLB 2008 Draft site they call the Rays the “Devil Rays”….They living in a time machine or they have idiots working there?
June 5th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
I still think this was a great pick for the Rays. This is their SS of the future. Brignac can always be dangled either at the deadline or in the offseason to bring in something of extreme value and need-a reliable run producer. I think Longoria will be the main guy here for a while, but we need somebody else to make this lineup truly formidable. The only guy we’d have a chance of possibly getting at the deadline would probably be Magglio Ordonez. Not sure if he’d even want to come here though. I would probably wait until the offseason to see if maybe one of the big name young guys can be traded for. I’m not really sure who might be able to be had, though. We might be able to get the run producer via free agency this offseason. Examples- Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, Raul Ibanez, Pat Burrell, Vladimir Guerrero. We could always dangle Brignac for a closer like Huston Street, as well.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I’d say he’ll start in Hudson Valley.