MLB Preview: Tampa Bay Rays

The 2007 season saw the Rays fall short of 70 wins once again, in fact the Rays haven't won 70 games in the history of the franchise. Despite another poor performance there were some positive developments from last season. The front office signed 1B Carlos Pena to a non roster contract during Spring Training, and all he did was finish 2nd to Alex Rodriguez with 46 home runs last season.

The Rays organization also can be happy with the development of BJ Upton. Upton hit .300 last year for the team, while also hitting over 20 homeruns and stealing over 20 bases.

The 2008 Rays made a move to bolster their pitching staff by acquiring Matt Garza from the Minnesota Twins and would appear to be a lock to win over 70 games this season.

Now it's time to look at three questions regarding the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays.

(1) Do the Rays have the best assortment of young talent in the Majors, and Minors?

One advantage of losing over 90 games during every season of your existence is the fact that you get a lot of top five picks as a result of that. The Rays have had their share of top picks, but unlike many teams they have made good use of those picks, as many of those players are now producing at the major league level.

The Rays have talented players at every position in the majors, and now it's just a matter of waiting for them to develop at a level that they can compete with the Yankees and Red Sox. It would appear that this team is one year away from being a serious threat to those powerhouse teams, but many people felt the Rockies were one year away last season.

The Rays have two of the best young outfielders in the game as Carl Crawford and BJ Upton will be the cornerstones of this franchise as they learn to win. Crawford is entering his 5th season with the Rays, and has developed at a rapid rate, although Rays fans would like to see more power out of him.

BJ Upton had a crucial season last year as the team finally gave him an everyday job in the infield. Upton is blessed with tremendous athleticism, but the Rays learned after the season that his athleticism is better suited for the outfield as Upton struggled mightily playing in the infield. Despite those struggles in the field Upton was one of the Rays top performers on offense.

The Rays superstar prospect expected to make noise this season is Evan Longoria. Longoria is a third baseman, and is expected to be one of the best young players in the game. Longoria was sent down to the minors earlier, but that was strictly because of contractual reasons. Expect Longoria up with the big club for good on June 1st.

The team also has a solid group of young arms in their organization as Jacob Mcghee, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis all are becoming close to making an impact at the major league level. The Rays also used the first overall pick last year to acquire left handed pitcher David Price from Vanderbilt. Price has had some discomfort in Spring training this year, but if his health holds up, he could join the club as soon as September of this year.

The Rays are blessed with an incredible collection of talent in the minors, and almost all of their regulars in the majors haven't even entered their primes yet. The future in Tampa looks to be extremely bright as they look to inch their way towards contention.

(2) Will the Rays gamble to deal Delmon Young pay off in the end?

It's very unusual to see a player with Delmon Young's potential get traded at such a young age. It's also very unusual to see a young pitcher like Matt Garza get traded at such a young age. This deal makes perfect sense for both teams, as the Rays at the time had an extra outfielder as BJ Upton was being moved from the infield to the outfield.

Delmon Young also was known to give coaches headaches by ignoring their advice to take a more patient approach at the plate. Young also was suspended 50 games in the minors for throwing a bat at an umpire, so there is an anger issue he needs to deal with as well.

That being said, GM Andrew Friedman will be crossing his fingers that Young doesn't put it all together in Minnesota, as Young's raw talent is surpassed by very few major leaguers.

Matt Garza will give the Rays a solid #3 starter to place behind Scott Kazmir, and James Shields. The Rays desperately needed another young arm in their rotation, and in Garza they have the perfect guy. Garza also wore out his welcome in MN, as he spoke to the press about his disatisfaction for being sent down to the minors out of Spring Training last season. Garza has All Star caliber potential, and should make the Rays happy with the deal.

(3) Will the Rays defense be able to improve the pitching staff this year?

Last season the Rays gave up the most runs in the American league, and to completely ignore defense in that equation would be a big mistake. The team started the season with Ty Wigginton getting substantial time at 3B, or 2B, while BJ Upton was also playing out of position at 2B. Wigginton left to Houston near the All Star break, and Upton will be roaming the outfield this season. Those moves alone should help the team save a handful of runs throughout the season.

The biggest move defensively for the Rays was acquiring Jason Bartlett in the Delmon Young trade as well. Bartlett is another good young ballplayer, but most importantly his defense is amongst the best in the league. That defense will be a significiant upgrade over Brenan Harris, and Reid Brignac. The Rays have one of the best defensive first baseman's in Carlos Pena, who now has the bat to go along with his gold glove caliber defense.

The team still may have a hole in right field as it appears that Rocco Baldelli may not play again this season, and Cliff Floyd or Johnny Gomez are better suited to be designated hitters at this point in their careers.

The 2008 Rays may be the most exciting team in baseball, and should they get solid enough pitching from their bullpen, and the back end of the rotation this team could surprise people this year. The biggest key for them entering the season will be the health of Scott Kazmir, as he will miss at least the first two weeks of the season. Before the Rays think about contending they need to make sure their ace is going to give them 30 starts this season.