Over the next few days, we will be introducing you to each of the Devil Rays minor league affiliates and highlighting a few of the players that we will be tracking over the course of the season. Today: The
The Biscuits begin their third year in
With managements new found patience with minor leaguers, we don't expect to see more than one or two Biscuits make it to the show this season. The most likely candidates would be from the pitching staff as the Devil Rays look for arms to fill out the bullpen.
Key players we will be keeping tabs on throughout the season
Jason Pridie (#33), 22 years old, OF. Add Pridie to the organizations gluttony of promising young outfielders. Pridie was the Devil Rays second round pick in the 2002 amateur draft. This was the same year the team drafted B. J. Upton in the first round (#2 overall). His minor league career has been up and down so far. He was finally moved up to AA Montgomery last season where he battled injuries and only played 28 games. Still, the team does still have high hopes for this young player, giving him two games in spring training this season in which he went 4-7, with 3 runs scored. Look for Pridie to get a quick bump up to
Andy Sonnanstine (#12), 22, SP. Sonnanstine is a member of Tampa's 2004 draft class (13th round) and appears to be on the fast track through the organization. Last season he split the season between low-A,
Chuck Tiffany (#34), 21, SP. Tiffany was the “other” guy in the trade that sent Danys Baez and Lance Carter to the Dodgers for Edwin Jackson. Tiffany, a second round pick in the 2003 draft, has two full seasons at the A-level, posting a record of 16-9. The lefthander is a strikeout artist, with a staggering 11.86 strikeouts per 9 innings. Could end up being the biggest piece in that trade. ETA September 2007
Elliot Johnson (#8), 22, 2B. Johnson, yet another member of the 2002 class (he was an undrafted free agent). His offensive numbers to date have been modest for a low level minor league player. However, Johnson is a great defensive secondbaseman and has very good speed. He has 43 stolen bases each of the past two season. And while his career batting average is only .258, his OBP is consistently near .350. Could be the second baseman of the future if Jorge Cantu ever makes the move to thirdbase. ETA 2008
Jim Magrane (#21), 27, SP. Magrane might not be much of a major league prospect. We only mention him because he is the cousin of former major league pitcher and current Rays announcer Joe Magrane. Originally drafted in 1996 by the New York Mets, he has been in the Rays organization since 2000, spending parts of each of the past four seasons with the Durham Bulls.
Tomorrow:
Labels: Montgomery Biscuits
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