Draft options still at five

The Rays say they are still considering five players for the No. 1 pick in the annual draft next Thursday.
And they say there isn't that much difference between them.
The five - in the order scouting director R.J. Harrison listed them, for what that's worth - are Florida State catcher Buster Posey, Georgia prep shortstop Tim Beckham, California prep catcher Kyle Skipworth, University of San Diego lefty Brian Matusz and Vanderbilt 3B Pedro Alvarez.
As opposed to last year, when the Rays were locked in from the start on LHP David Price as the top pick, Harrison said none of the five have established themselves as the obvious choice, and any of them could be because they are so close.
"I think so,'' Harrison said. “I think I told you guys before the spring even started, that’s the way I saw it going in and that’s the way we still see it. Last year we had a pretty good idea who we were taking in the fall. It was just a matter of something weird not happening to (Price). But this group, this year, I think it’s pretty evenly balanced. I can make a case for every one of those five guys, honestly.”
Executive VP Andrew Friedman later said three of the five are "more realistic,'' though he declined to name them. Posey and Beckham are widely considered to be in that group; the third is probably Alvarez, who is ranked as the top overall prospect by Baseball America, though Matusz would be an interesting option.
Beckham's dad, Jimmy, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Wednesday that they expect to be taken either first by the Rays or second by the Pirates.
"I've built quite a conversational relationship with the Pirates, and we feel the Pirates would not be a bad place for him," Jimmy Beckham said. "Either way, though, he'll be happy. We feel good about Tampa and Pittsburgh."

Comments

[gowithpitching]

Always go with pitching. If you are ever lucky enough to have too much pitching, you can trade it for positions players...........

[TT]

Buster Posey WILL be an impact player. Will he hit in the show like in College? No, absolutely not. But he is a better defensive catcher than Navarro RIGHT NOW.

Great hitting catchers are extremely rare, because the demands of catching require so much focus. But, a couple of years of learning how to handle pitchers and call games (95% of that is done from the FSU bench now) will make Posey MLB ready.

I appreciate the bat Navarro has brought with him and think he's mentally tough - overcoming a LOT in his life lately. But his future is as a DH, especially if the pounds keep piling on.

If they don't take Posey, I hope they opt for the HS Catcher in Cali.

[kornmarv]

Understand the views here but can't get enough pitchers is my view. Done my homework on Matusz and he's the real deal. Get him and trade the other excess pitchers to get a catcher/shortstop.

[Edgar]

Why aren't the Rays looking at 1B Justin Smoak? He is a sleeper player. He is a young Mark Teixiera. He can hit and field. I don't trust Posey or Alvarez. I rather see Tim Beckham or Justin Smoak. Besides, they don't need no more pitching. They are deep in that category.

[Nunya]

Blaming gas prices for not going to Rays games is a lame excuse. The drive from Tampa to the Trop is approx. 24 miles. The average car in the US gets 20 mpg. The difference between $4/gallon and $2/gallon that you pay for the round trip is less than $5. If you can’t afford $5 more to drive to a ballgame, then you should give up those Marlboros, six packs of Busch Light, and sell your trailer.

[Ted]

Go Carolina Rays!!!

[Rory]

From most I've read about Posy is that although he will be a good,solid MLB player. He WILL NOT ever be an impact type player,which a team shoots for when having the #1 overall pick.Tim Beckham or Pedro Alvarez have that type potential,Posey does not.

[Nick]

I would love for the Rays to draft Posey. Of course, I'm an FSU alum, but still, the guy is a ridiculous talent, and is a character guy as well. An academic all-american and the collegiate baseball player of the year. Throw in the fact that its really hard to find a quality catcher, and it looks like a #1 pick to me. C'mon Rays! Make Posey the number 1 choice.