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Rays get glimpse of tomorrow today

Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli are among the top prospects getting looks.

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer

© St. Petersburg Times
published February 28, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- Man cannot live, Carl Crawford discovered last fall, on shrimp fried rice alone.

Selected to play outfield for Team USA in a two-week tournament in Taiwan, Crawford found the local delicacies unidentifiable and unappetizing. Sticking basically to the one dish he felt comfortable with for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Crawford lost weight, got run-down and didn't play very well.

[Times photo: Toni L. Sandys] Carl Crawford hit .274 with 51 RBIs and 36 stolen bases in Class AA.

That, it turns out, might be the only way to slow him down.

On a full stomach, Crawford is among a talented group, including Rocco Baldelli, Dewon Brazelton, Jon Switzer and the injured Josh Hamilton, the Rays consider their next group of homegrown major-leaguers.

And during the first week of exhibition games, as much as the Rays like to talk about the future, they're going to put their prospects where their hyperbole is.

"It's one of the signs this organization is getting better, that our young players are all getting to the point where we can watch them play in spring training and, hopefully, at Tropicana Field before long," general manager Chuck LaMar said.

"There's a group of young players competing for jobs at the major-league level, and the next wave of players, the Brazeltons, the Baldellis, the Crawfords, the Switzers, these type of players will show the fans, at least during the first week of spring training, they're not too far away."

Crawford, 20, doesn't believe he's far at all. More encouraging, the 1999 second-round pick doesn't believe there's much at this point that can get in his way.

"The only thing that can stop me is me," Crawford said. "I think once I go to Triple A and show that I'm ready, I think they'll be ready to have me up here. So I'm the only person that can stop me. If I don't continue to develop, I'm only hurting myself."

Crawford didn't play much baseball during a multisport career at Houston's Davis High, where he was good enough to get an offer to play quarterback at Nebraska and draw interest from UCLA's basketball program.

While Crawford is a tremendous athlete, the Rays weren't sure how quickly he would develop. After seeing the way he improved at the plate, on the bases and in the field during his 21/2 seasons in the minors, including a 2001 team MVP season at Double-A Orlando, where he hit .274, knocked in 51 runs and stole 36 bases, they don't wonder much anymore.

"If anything, it's probably been a little faster than we thought," LaMar said.

The same could be said about Baldelli -- the team's top pick in the 2000 draft out of prospect-shy Rhode Island. And the Rays do.

[Times photo: Toni L. Sandys] Rocco Baldelli hit .249 with 8 homers, 55 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in Class A.

"He's handled himself extremely well," LaMar said. "And he looks like he'll continue to be on the fast track through the minor leagues."

Baldelli, 20, showed considerable promise and improvement during his first full minor-league season at Single-A Charleston (S.C.) in 2001, hitting .249 with 8 homers, 55 RBI and 25 steals.

The physical tools -- especially his speed and grace -- are obvious, and he'll get stronger. What will get him from the list of top prospects to the lineup is improving his consistency.

"You can't put too much stock in any lists or things that come out because you don't know what's going to happen," Baldelli said. "You've got to get there first, and that's what I'm trying to so right now.

"Hopefully, nothing could stop me. You'd like to think you'll get there no matter what. There's a hundred things that could stop you, but you can't let them stop you."

With Crawford in left, Baldelli in center and Hamilton in right, the Rays have what potentially could develop into one of the game's top outfields. Were it not for Hamilton's sore back, they likely would have assembled their dream outfield for Friday's exhibition opener against the University of Tampa.

Some day, perhaps within a year or two, they could be together at the Trop. Crawford likely will start this season at Triple-A Durham and could be called up at the end of the year. Baldelli might start in advanced Single-A Bakersfield but should finish the season at Double-A Orlando.

Hamilton, who lost a year of development to injury, hopes to start at Orlando.

"Can you visualize that outfield? That would be something," manager Hal McRae said. "If we can get them all to the big leagues -- that's the uncertainty. That would be exciting to see three athletes in the outfield, big guys that can really run and really throw.

"Even if I weren't the manager, I'd buy a ticket just out of curiosity."

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