High school outfielder with high upside but he's far away.
BaseballAmerica: (#13 in California, top-ranked player from that state not on the top 200)
Outfielder James Harris looks great in a uniform with his 6-foot-1, 175-pound athletic frame. He's raw and may need two years in Rookie ball, but he has huge upside. Harris is an explosive athlete. He is a well above-average runner, with a 37-inch vertical leap, and can fly on the bases and in center field. He has below-average arm strength, but enough for center field. A righthanded hitter, Harris is patient at the plate, trying to get on base any way possible, and some scouts wonder if he's actually too passive. He also shows some raw power. Harris has not committed to a college, so he should be signable.
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Other than Guerrieri,Mahtook,Goeddel,and possiblyMartin and Garvin all of our other 5 picks could quite possibly been had in rounds 2-4.Time will tell, but now it looks like we over drafted some players, then lowball them just to save $$.
ReplyDeleteWhat the Rays are paying Harris would be the lowest amount every paid to a player drafted this high in the last 5 years and possibly last decade. He agreed to a contract before he was drafted and probably should have gone in the 8th or 9th round. They're trying to use his contract to indeed, lowball their other draft picks.
ReplyDelete8th or 9th round? Bull.
ReplyDeleteI actually like JHJR.
I like him too but not where he was drafted. He was projected to be about #280 in terms of being selected. He was taken 60th overall and agreed to a very poor contract prior to the draft, which will be about one fourth of recommended slot, and he did have some college options available. I feel bad for him, he should have had an advisor. Baseball America (for what it's worth) had him ranked 280 overall. I hope he has a long and profitable career, a super nice kid whom the Rays took advantage of.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.draysbay.com/2011/6/7/2149825/2011-mlb-draft-first-round-results-tampa-bay-rays
I played with james for 4 years on our high school team in Oakland. Same year as him and everything. Coming into our senior year I had no idea he was a potential draft pick let alone a first rounder. He'd always been a good player but i had never considered him good enough to attract 20+ scouts at all our games. While I hope the best for him as a friend and teammate and I am very happy for him that he got picked where he did. however I have to agree with some people in that I think he probably could have been picked in later rounds. He can run like you wouldn't believe and is a great contact hitter. With rickey henderson as his idol, who also went to our school oakland tech, I think his motivation and desire to succeed will eventually get him to the bigs. Best of luck to my boy james!
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 5:14
ReplyDeleteYou jealous.
lol
ReplyDelete