AL East: Prospect Watch - David Price
David Price – Tampa Bay Rays
By: Kyle
Well, we may as well just start at the top. Not just the top of the AL East prospects either, this right here, this is the guy. You are probably either well aware of that, or wondering why the hell an A ball player is on the active roster in some of your leagues. No matter how much you know about him right now one thing is certain, you need to know about him.
I’ll try to keep this succinct, because it’s easy to ramble when you talk about this guy. So let’s bullet point it to keep on track.
• 2007’s #1 overall draft pick
• 22 years old (turns 23 August 26)
• 6′6″
• Left handed
• Three years of college ball
• College Player of the Year his final year (194 k’s, 31 walks in 133.1 innings pitched, 11-1 with a 2.63 ERA and a .94 WHIP)
• 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA in six starts at high A
• Called up to AA this past weekend
• Struck out Alex Rodriguez twice in an extended spring training game earlier this year
• Out pitched an admittedly rehabbing Pedro Martinez in his SECOND professional start
• On the insanely fast track to Tampa Bay
On the surface, there is nothing to not like about this kid. He’s big, he’s strong, and his years playing college ball only make him that much more ready to step up to the majors. He is everything you could want in a pitching prospect and more.
So where are the red flags? No one can be this good, can they? Well, he’s only started six games this season because he suffered a strained muscle around the elbow during the spring. Arm problems at this age can’t be a good sign. Fortunately though, it really doesn’t seem to have been more than just a strained/pulled muscle. No structural damage, nothing long term, nothing to worry about in the slightest. And amazingly, that’s about where the red flags end.
Mid to upper 90’s fastball, an above average change and what is supposed to be a devastating slider are the final things you should need to know before adding him to your keeper roster, if you haven’t already run to add him. Dynasty leaguers will have to trade to grab him, and they may want to make that move asap as it just isn’t gonna get any easier. David Price has as good a chance to be the best pitcher in the American League as any pitcher in baseball today. Get while the gettin’ is good.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 9:57 pm and is filed under Fantasy Baseball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
