The Next Hope

When you're in the number four slot of the draft you can probably use several things. This is true of the TWSL Tampa Bay Rays. One large area of need was first base and trying to guess what the three picks ahead of Tampa would be was largely futile. As the draft commenced the first pick was Brett Lawrie. Fine young player and there would have been room for him in Tampa, but he was now gone so scratch him off of the list. The Angels sat in the number two slot and they had a tough decision. They had some nice pieces so were they going to go for the most help in this seasons draft or go for the future? With Konerko still manning first base Eric Hosmer wasn't the best fit. Pairing ace starting pitcher Justin Verlander with Michael Pineda certainly looked tempting. With Nyjer Morgan as the long term Center Field option the Angels decided to go with Mike Trout to hopefully lock down that position for the next decade. One pick left before the Rays turn and that pick belonged to St. Louis. The Cardinals had options at first base with youngsters Ike Davis and Justin Smoak. Although Second Baseman Dustin Ackley could have been a good fit, the Cardinals just loved the potential of starting pitcher Matt Moore and didn't hesitate to take him. Now with the Rays turn to select, welcome Eric Hosmer.

Eric Hosmer was the third overall selection in the 2008 Major League Draft, straight out of High School in Plantation, Florida he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals. In 272 minor league games Hosmer smacked 29 homers with an overall .312 batting average. In 2011 Eric began the season in AAA Omaha. After 26 games Hosmer was hitting .439 so the Royals decided he was ready for the big leagues. In 128 games with the Royals Hosmer batted .293 with 19 home runs. Just for good measure he added 11 stolen bases to his stat line.

Now you hear raves about Eric, things like "the sky's the limit", "unlimited potential", ...can be an "elite player" and now as an owner I want to believe it. We're talking about a 22 year old who is 6'4" 230 pounds and he can hit, field and run. I want to believe that here's a player who will eventually put 30 homers in the middle of my lineup and he'll be a mainstay for the next 10 years. That's the dream but the reality has to play itself out. We've all seen rookies shine like meteors and just like those brilliant flashes of light they would just burn out and crash.

All I can really be sure about is what Hosmer will give me for this season. He will be a dangerous hitter with some power, good defender and provide some base running ability. What he won't be is the final piece of the puzzle that puts Tampa Bay into the TWSL playoffs this season. I feel fortunate to have been able to draft him, now we'll have to wait and see how both Eric and the Rays develop.