Rays

Short pitcher could be a steal

ST. PETERSBURG - Remember this name: Jonathan Barratt.

While the Devil Rays made the biggest splash in the draft when they took California high school slugger Delmon Young with the first pick, Barratt's name kept popping up Wednesday when the two-day draft was complete.

Baseball draftniks are praising the Rays for taking Barratt in the fifth round.

He is listed at 5 feet 10, 155 pounds but might be closer to 5-8.

Still, he is a left-handed pitcher from Hillcrest High in Springfield, Mo., who throws in the low 90s and might have been a first-round pick if he were just a few inches taller. Most scouting reports on Barratt say he is small but doesn't throw small.

"We had him in a workout after his high school season was over, and he was very impressive," said Cam Bonifay, the Rays' director of player personnel and scouting. "There's a lot of talent there. "He's interesting because of his stuff. He's a high-ceiling guy."

BEST OF DAY 2: The Rays started Day 2 by taking Sarasota High left-handed pitcher Casey Hudspeth in the 21st round. Hudspeth joins teammate James Houser, who was taken by Tampa Bay in the second round.

"Casey has a lot of potential and good stuff," Bonifay said.

Hudspeth has hit 92 on the radar gun, but command sometimes is a problem.

NAP TIME: Bonifay said his staff might be ready for a nap today. One that lasts about a week.

The Rays made 30 selections on the second day to complete the 50-round draft.

"I thought it went fine," Bonifay said. "There were names throughout that we were happy to see and think are going to help us. We got some good talent and a lot of college players that are going to help (our lower minor-league teams) soon."

NOTABLE PICKS: The Rays used the 22nd round to take Arizona State outfielder Roderick Allen, who is projected as a power hitter.

They also took a couple of Pac-10 pitchers in Stanford's Ryan McCaully and Arizona's Joseph Little.

McCaully is labeled as a cool competitor, and Little possesses a live fastball but needs to develop a changeup to have a shot at being the fourth or fifth pitcher in a major-league rotation.

THE SKIPPER: Managers have little to do with the draft.

Even with the opinionated Lou Piniella as manager, the Rays left the draft up to Bonifay and, to a certain extent, general manager Chuck LaMar.

Still, Piniella weighed in - and seemed happy - on the selection of Young.

"He came into our ballpark a couple of weeks ago and really put on an impressive hitting performance," Piniella said. "He hit the ball with power to all parts of the field, had really nice hitting mechanics, especially for a young kid. And he should develop into a fine major-league hitter in a very short time.

"With his brother (Dmitri of the Tigers) already at the big-league level, the genes are pretty good. I think it was a wise selection, and hopefully, it pans out for us quickly."

THE BREAKDOWN: The Rays drafted more pitchers in the 50-round draft than any other position.

The Rays selected 23 pitchers, including 12 left-handers. The rest of the Rays' list included eight outfielders, seven shortstops, five catchers, four second basemen, two third basemen and one first baseman.

Of their 50 picks, 23 were out of high school, 21 played at four-year universities, five came from junior or community colleges and one - the 50th pick, Brent Speigner - had been playing at Auburn but didn't play this past season.