Mound Talk

Evan Longoria has received many accolades since being drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in first round (third overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. He was given a $3 million signing bonus and assigned to Short-Season A, Hudson Valley before moving up to High-A with the Visalia Oaks after just eight games. He finished his first season of with the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits. He started off 2007, his first full season, with Montgomery again and finished the last 31 games of the year with the Triple-A Durham Bulls.

Longoria was immediately recognized as a top prospect both in the Rays system and in all of baseball. He was recognized after the 2007 season as Baseball America’s #2 prospect in the Arizona Fall League and #2 in the Southern League (behind Cameron Maybin and Justin Upton). He was rated the #2 prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America. He was rated #1 by Keith Law and came in #3 in Kevin Goldstein’s, Project Prospect and my own Top Prospect lists.

At the beginning of Spring Training this year it was pretty well assumed that Longoria would be the starting third baseman for the Rays on Opening Day. However, despite Longoria hitting .333/.488/.767 in 30 at-bats with six extra base hits, Longoria is likely to be sent to Triple-A to start the season, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

In the fall, I wrote a detailed Scouting Report on Longoria where I speculated he’ll get a shot out of Spring Training but will more likely start the season in Triple-A before getting a call up in June. Longoria has all the makings of an elite third baseman. I like a comparison between him and Ryan Zimmerman for his defensive ability as well as his offensive upside. With the Rays likely to hold him back, I’d like to take a look at this decision to see if it’s the right one or not.

I’m already on record as saying I think he’s looking at a June call up and I stick by that thought for one simple reason: economics. The economics of baseball dictate that a player’s salary is dictated by their team until they have accumulated three years service time at the big league level. Their next three seasons they are eligible to file for arbitration before finally, after six years of service time, becoming eligible to file for Free Agency.

I think the Rays are making the right decision here. By postponing his call up, the Rays are effectively getting an additional year out of him for a minimal investment. The Rays aren’t going to be a playoff team in 2008. The addition of Longoria for two month will not change the fact that the Rays are going to be watching the Sox and Yanks in October. But by the time 2011-2013 rolls around, the Rays will have more than enough pieces to put together a contending team and having Longoria will be a key part of that process. As much as I, and any Rays fan, wants to see what Longoria can do at the big league level, the Rays are making the right decision here.