Rays Draft 3 on First Day of MLB Draft

The Tampa Bay Rays added three new young men to their organization last night. The Rays had to first round picks and one compensatory pick.

Meet Josh Sale (17th overall)

Sale is coming out of Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle. Baseball America tabs him as the 10th overall prospect in the draft and projects him as .280 hitter with 30 home run potential.
Sale who throws left handed and hits right is 6’1,’’ 205 pounds. In his senior year in high school he hit .460 with 13 home runs. He is projected as a corner outfielder with an above average arm. The only knock on him is his speed, where he rated below average.

Meet Justin O’ Conner (31st overall)

The Rays picked this draft pick as in light of not signing last years 30th overall Lavonn Washington. O’ Connor went to Cowan HS in Muncie, Indiana. He is projected as a catcher, but is very raw behind the plate because he only started catching last summer. He can also play shortstop and third base, but look to see the rays to keep him at catcher due to the lack of depth in the organization.
O’ Connor is an Arkansas commitment, but seems ready to get here professional career underway. “This is like a dream come true to me. Right now, I’m going to play professional baseball. That’s what I’ve always wanted to do. In his Senior year of high O’ Connor hit .470 with eight home runs.

Meet Drew Vettleson (42nd overall)

With their second compensatory pick of the draft that they received for losing Greg Zaun to free agency they drafted Drew Vettleson. He like Sale is from Washington he played at Central Kitsap High School in Silverdale.
Vettleson is know as being a switch pitcher, but don’t expect him to take the mound for the Rays. He is tabbed as a better outfield prospect with good power potential. Like Sale he projects as a corner outfielder with receiving below average grades in speed.
The next step for the Rays will be getting these three young men signed to contracts. They all are committed to major universities already, but they all seem like they want to start their professional careers and forgo college.
With all three young men coming straight out of high do not expect them playing in Tropicana field for sometime. When taking high school prospects sometimes its hard to judge at such a young age their development, but tend to have a higher ceiling than many college players.