Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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December 11, 2005

Former P-Ray, Pridie, selected in Rule 5 Draft

By JIM NELSON

PRINCETON — Jason Pridie, who lit up Appalachian League pitching three years ago as the centerfielder for the Princeton Devil Rays, was selected by the Minnesota Twins during Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 Draft on Thursday.

Pridie, who suffered a knee injury that limited him to 28 games with Double-A Montgomery last season, was taken by the twins as the ninth pick overall in the draft.

Pridie must remain on Minnesota’s 25-man major league roster throughout the 2006 season or be offered back to Tampa Bay for $25,000.

During the 2002 season in Princeton, Pridie hit .368, compiling 105 hits (second highest total in the history of the Appy League), and compiling a 20-game hitting streak during the year. He ranked among the league’s top hitters in five of six offensive categories.

Baseball America magazine rated Pridie as the “Best Hitter in the Rays Organization” following the ’02 season.

Tampa Bay could start an all-Princeton outfield in ’06.

Centerfielder Rocco Baldelli (Princeton, Class of 2000) hopes to bounce back after missing the 2004 season with arm and leg injuries. He led all American League rookies in hits (184) and outfield assists (14) in 2003, then posted a .280 batting average with 16 home runs and 74 runs batted in in ’04.

Leftfielder Carl Crawford (Princeton, Class of 1999) hit .301 with 15 homers and 46 stolen bases in 2005. He reached 175 hits and 50 stolen bases in each of his first full seasons (2003 and ’04) in the majors.

Jonny Gomes, the Appalachian League’s Most Valuable Player in 2001 when he hit 16 home runs for Princeton, hit 21 homers in just 101 games as an outfielder and designated hitter for Tampa Bay in ’05, finishing third in American League Rookie of the Year balloting.

After suffering a heart attack on Christmas Eve 2002, he reached the majors for a brief audition late in the 2003 season.

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