Rays 8th Round Pick - 272nd Overall - C Luke Maile

BaseballAmerica (rated #297 overall):

Maile is the biggest power threat on a Kentucky team that won its first 22 games and led the Southeastern Conference for much of the regular season. A 6-foot-3, 220-pound righthanded hitter, Maile has good strength and made some needed adjustments at the plate this year without compromising his solid pop. He has shortened his swing, made more consistent contact and caught up to better fastballs. He has good patience at the plate. Offense definitely is the strength of Maile's game, and scouts remain unconvinced that he can catch regularly in pro ball. He has shared duties behind the plate the last two years with Michael Williams while also seeing extensive time at first base. Maile has average arm strength but a long release, and he doesn't look pretty as a receiver. To his credit, he did throw out 56 percent of basestealers during the regular season. He also moves well enough to make left field a possible destination. 

Baseball Draft Report:

Kentucky JR C Luke Maile: good bat speed; big raw power; good arm; raw defensively; good athlete with room to grow into his body a little more; strong track record hitting against high velocity arms in SEC and summer league; lack of experience as backstop is worrisome, but has the tools to be a competent defender going forward; not quite enough bat to play first (at least as a starter), nor is he athletic enough to play anywhere but C/1B, so his future hinges on his ability to defend – I tend to think most questions of position switches at the amateur level tend to be answered in an unfavorable way sooner rather than later, but for some reason I’m less likely to move a prospect off catcher than any other position; long story short: Maile is a good enough defender with the chance to hit like an everyday player behind the plate; 6-3, 210 pounds

MLB.com scouting video from 2009: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=4737135&topic_id=4961152



*** SIGNED JUNE 9TH. ***