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June 11, 2008

Roster a mystery to local clubs

By JED LOCKETT

BLUEFIELD — With opening day of the Appalachian League season still five days away, neither the Baltimore Orioles nor the Tampa Bay Rays are entirely sure who they will send to Mercer County.

But it is fun to speculate.

The annual Major League Baseball draft was held late last week, giving both Major League clubs an opportunity to restock their farm systems with young talent. Many of those youngsters could be on their way to Bluefield or Princeton to begin their professional careers.

The P-Rays could have the No. 1 pick overall at shortstop. Timothy Beckham, a six-footer out of Griffin High School in Georgia, could make his professional debut in Princeton.

“Obviously when you’ve got the No. 1 overall draft pick and the fact that he’s a high-schooler versus a college player really improves the chances that he’ll end up in Princeton,” said P-Rays general manager Jim Holland.

Beckham would not be the first No. 1 draft pick to end up in Princeton. Josh Hamilton was a P-Ray in 1999. Now he is the anchor for the Texas Rangers’ offense.

“We’ve been through this before with Josh Hamilton...,” Holland said. “So sure we’re excited it’s a possibility. But right now we have to wait and see how it all unfolds.”

Baltimore spent the No. 4 overall pick on left-handed pitcher Brian Matusz. The 6-4 200-pound junior out of the University of San Diego would be welcomed in Nature’s Air-Conditioned City.

“We’d love to have him here,” said Bluefield Orioles general manager Mike Showe. “It should be a big drawing card for us just to add in. I know he put up some good numbers in college. I know he throws the ball pretty hard, which is always a plus especially being a lefty. We would welcome him in Bluefield.”

By bringing their talents to Mercer County, Beckham and Matusz would give the P-Rays and Baby Birds instantly recognizable faces people would want to see.

“When Josh Hamilton was here, there was a lot of facets of our operation that year that were more successful in that year than others,” Holland said.

“It pretty much sells itself because people that whether you follow baseball closely or you don’t follow it closely, the No. 1 overall pick kind of speaks for itself. It’s its own drawing card.”

Matusz was the focal point in a draft that went heavy on the hurlers. Of Baltimore’s first 15 picks, seven of them were pitchers.

Showe could not speak to the quality of the roster because he did not have it yet. But he did think the Baby Birds strength this season could be on the mound.

“I would think our pitching staff should be good,” Showe said. “Again, until we get the roster on Friday, I really can’t even speculate on what we’re going to have one way or the other.”

Tampa Bay placed more of a focus on the field instead of the mound. Only five of their first 15 selections in the 2008 draft were pitchers.

But Holland did not believe this meant the 2008 P-Rays would be an offensive juggernaut.

“You never know because...you have to factor in your returnees you’re going to get,” Holland said. “So who knows. You can’t read your answer to that totally into the draft. You have to wait and see how the mixture of returnees are going to play into it.”

But no matter who the Baby Birds or the P-Rays get, there will be that excitement and promise for the future.

“You’re always excited about who we get once the draft shakes out, once the players get signed, once everything shakes out at spring training, who they send here,” Showe said.

Showe was also quick to point out that it was not always the top picks in the draft that become superstars. It could just as easily be Tampa Bay’s final pick and No. 1,478 overall Kyle Peterson, or Baltimore’s final pick and No. 1,481 overall Wes Soto.

In 1996, Tampa Bay selected Travis Phelps in the 89th round. He wound up pitching three seasons in the big leagues. Mike Piazza, a 62th round selection, is a probable future Hall of Fame selection.

“A lot of people remember Mike Piazza,” Showe said. “He was taken very late when he was drafted and he turned into a long-time Major-League All-Star. Nobody ever thought that he would make it, what he made of himself.

“So it could be a first pick. It could be a 35th pick. But we’re going to treat everybody the same.”

But the uncertainty does not effect either franchise. Both clubs market a baseball experience under the stars, not with the stars.

“Realistically, like I’ve been saying all winter, the one thing I cannot control is who the Baltimore Orioles put on the field, how good they are, if we win games or if we lose games,” Showe said. “I can not control that.

“The thing I can control is when you walk through those gates, the experience you have when you’re here and that’s what we’re all about.”

“It doesn’t effect us at all because it’s the way it’s been every year. We’re marketing the whole experience of Princeton Rays baseball,” Holland said.

“You get who you get. It’s never made a difference whether a certain fan is going to attend or not because they’re all about the Rays, not in particular a specific individual we’re going to get.”

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

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