Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Tampa prospects turn heads

Span, Dukes earn strong grades at regional scouting event.

By FRANK PASTOR

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 9, 2001

TAMPA -- Tampa Catholic's Denard Span and Hillsborough's Elijah Dukes were rated among the top five prospects at the East Cost Professional Baseball Showcase Thursday through Saturday in Wilmington, N.C.

About 150 high school players from the eastern and midwestern United States -- many who are eligible for the June draft -- attended the invitation-only showcase.

Span, a 6-foot, 170-pound outfielder who helped Tampa Catholic to the Class 3A state championship in May, ranked third.

His time of 6.7 seconds in the 60-yard dash was third-fastest. He hit five batting-practice homerss.

"I don't recall seeing too many 170-pound hitters with his kind of pop in the past," Anup Sinha wrote on Team One Baseball's Web site. "Did Barry Bonds look a little bit like this when he was 17?

"Span, of course, has a long way to go before comparisons like that, but he is looking every bit like an early pick next June."

Dukes, a 6-3, 222-pound outfielder, ranked fifth. The top-rated player at last month's Team One East showcase, he is considered a five-tool prospect.

"He has light-tower power, comparable to anyone in the country," wrote Sinha, who attends hundreds of games and workouts year-round. "Yet, he showed the ability to tone down his swing and even dumped a couple of opposite-field singles.

"Dukes took a lot of walks, too. There aren't too many hitters in high school with that combination of raw power and discipline."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright