Is there such a thing as too much talent? The old baseball maxim goes: You can never have too much pitching. But can you have too many outfielders? The 2007 Devil Rays are apparently trying to prove that you can never have too many outfielders. With Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, Elijah Dukes, Delmon Young, B.J. Upton, Johnny Gomes and Joel Guzman all competing for playing time, fans are left wondering who will play and where will they play.
Left field certainly belongs to Carl Crawford. He’s the most veteran of the group and has shown he’s one of the finest young players in baseball. His special ability to combine power with speed makes him an offensive force and his position will only be threatened if he’s traded but that does not look likely to happen.
Rocco Baldelli will get first crack at roaming centerfield at the ‘Trop’ this year. He has the best defense of the group and as long as he can stay healthy he will be a solid offensive contributor. In 364 at bats last year Baldelli hit .302 with a slugging average of .533. If he is 100% for 2007 he could be a 20/20 guy with ease.
Right field belongs to Delmon Young. He will have the first chance to lose the starting job in Spring Training. He has the best arm by far out of any of the young guys and covers a fair amount of territory. Offensively the guy is a power machine. He doesn’t walk much but he’s got power to make up for it. He is a fairly selective hitter despite his low walk rate. His ability to see a pitch he likes and drive it is what has made him a top prospect in all of baseball. But if he starts to struggle there will be a number of guys coming after that position.
Elijah Dukes is one of the more talented prospects in baseball. Unfortunately he consistently finds himself in trouble and that has caused much speculation about his future role. He’s very athletic and has a great ability to drive the ball. He draws a lot of walks but isn’t the smartest base runner which tends to hurt his team. His power is still developing and he struggles at times because he tries to do what he wants with the ball instead of using the pitch location to his advantage. With a crowded outfield in Tampa, the Devil Rays sent Dukes to the Arizona Fall League to work at first base. He only lasted seven days there and only played in four games at first. He’ll get a shot at first in Spring Training but expect Wes Bankston to be competing for that job as well. He will have to walk the straight and narrow line in order to stay in Tampa but should get a fair shot to play in 2007.
B.J. Upton got the call to be the everyday third baseman for the Devil Rays after the departure of Aubrey Huff this past season. There is plenty to be concerned about with Upton though. While he is undoubtedly a great talent with plenty of offensive skills, he lacks defensive skills. He was moved from shortstop to third while in Durham (AAA, International League) this year which seemed to help but questions still loom about his ability to stick, especially with 2006 draftee Evan Longoria tearing through the minor leagues. If Upton can’t stay in the infield, he would be a prime candidate to be dangled in a trade for a pitcher.
Johnny Gomes is by far the worst defender of the group and that is why he has been relinquished to the role of designated hitter. The influx of new, young talent only solidifies his role as DH for the near future.
Joel Guzman has been a top prospect for some time. He was traded from the Dodgers midseason to Tampa to the surprise of many. He’s a very good guy to have on a team as he can play outfield, third base and first base. He just didn’t fit with the Dodgers since they had talent galore at those positions already. Ironically, so do the Devil Rays. He’ll likely get a shot at right field, first base and third base but ultimately fall short and become the super utility man for the Devil Rays. That isn’t a bad role for him or the team. It will allow him to play four or five days a week and accumulate 500 at bats while giving a rest to the regulars.
Can you have too many outfielders? We’ll have to wait until October
to find out. The Devil Rays have a surplus of offensive talent
that cannot play defense well and that usually doesn’t bode well.
The surplus of talent has forced a migration from the outfield
into the infield where the players defensive problems are magnified.
At some point the Rays will have their hand forced and will need
to trade some of their offensive talents for pitching. Whether
that is in 2007, the next off-season or 2008 depends on the ability
of these seven players to adjust, adapt and win.
