TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Rays Say Beckham Has It All

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 6, 2008

Updated: 06/06/2008 05:24 am

ST. PETERSBURG - The buzzword the Rays kept using to describe Tim Beckham on Thursday was "advanced."

Executive vice president Andrew Friedman described his team's first overall pick in the 2008 draft as having an "advanced approach" to the game, while scouting director R.J. Anderson would go on to praise the 18-year-old's "advanced feel" for how to play.

They referred not only to Beckham's physical attributes, which make him a five-tool player in baseball scouting parlance, but also his character.

While it goes without saying that he wouldn't have been in position to be the first player selected in this year's draft without the quick hands that will allow him to hit for average and power or the legs that help him cover so much ground at shortstop and on the bases, the hope is Beckham's mental makeup will help him put all those tools together and make him an elite player.

"When you watch this guy play, there's this enthusiasm and there's this advanced feel to play the game for a young player," said Harrison. "And then when you get around him as a person, it seals the deal."

In taking him with what they hope will be their last pick this high in the first round for a long time, the Rays expect Beckham to fall in line with his predecessors from the last two drafts, David Price and Evan Longoria.

Coming out of high school rather than college, it will take Beckham longer to make an impact at the major-league level than either of those players, but the Rays are perfectly willing to wait. They believe the Griffin (Ga.) High School product will reward them in the end.

"We talk about high-ceiling players all the time," said Harrison. "This kid's already a really good player, and we think that he's only going to get better."

The Rays wouldn't offer a timetable for when Beckham might work his way up to the majors, with Friedman saying it would be "unfair" to him to do so. Beckham later expressed his hope to be in Tampa Bay in two or three years - an optimistic projection, to be sure, but one made with confidence.

"I'm going to keep working hard and keep giving 110 percent in everything that I do," Beckham said on a conference call. "That's what got me to this position right now and I'm going to stick with that and hopefully I'll get called up pretty quick."

He'll have to agree to a contract before he starts down that path, and serious discussions on that front likely will begin during the weekend or early next week. Both sides said Thursday they would like to get a deal done quickly so Beckham can begin playing professional games as soon as possible. Once he signs, he probably will be assigned to the Rays' Rookie-level Princeton (W.Va.) affiliate.

"He really wants to get out there and start playing and we really want to get him out there and start playing," said Friedman. "So we're going to let the process run its course, but we're hopeful that it won't be something that will drag on throughout the summer."

That's what happened with the Price negotiations last summer, as the left-hander went down to MLB's deadline day, Aug. 15, before coming to terms. But that was a different situation, as the Rays didn't mind letting him wait until this year to begin his pro career because of all the innings he already had logged at Vanderbilt.

In Beckham's case, there is plenty of development still to come and the Rays would prefer he get started immediately. So would Beckham, for that matter.

"As quickly as I can get it done, the happier I am," he said. "I'm ready to play ball, I'm ready to contribute to their success."

Griffin coach Jamie Cassady has no doubt Beckham will do so at some point in the future. He has seen too many special moments from his star player to expect anything less.

Like the night earlier this season when the Griffin team played poorly all the way around, earning some extra running for the players after the game. According to Cassady, one player complained about the punitive measures - until Beckham put a stop to it.

"Tim got on him pretty good," said Cassady. "The coaches never had to say anything because Tim took control of the situation and got the kid in gear. That was really the turning point of our season, and that was pretty much him."

The Rays collected all sorts of anecdotes like that in the months leading up to their decision, which Harrison said was made late Wednesday night. After all the discussions, Beckham was clearly the top player on their draft board, beating out Florida State catcher Buster Posey.

There were some reports early Thursday that Posey's reported asking price of $12 million may have scared the Rays off, but the team emphatically denied that, with Friedman saying it had "zero factor" in the decision.

Reporter Marc Lancaster can be reached at (813) 259-7227 or mlancaster@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT