What Could Have Been...

I can't complain too much, I've been provided some very nice players via the Tampa Bay Rays MLB pipeline. That doesn't stop me from contemplating how good I could have had it. The then Devil Rays made Josh Hamilton their first pick of the Amateur Draft in 1999. He was considered "The Natural" come to life. Like Robert Redford's Roy Hobbs character Hamilton then got sidetracked on his way to the major leagues. An unfortunate car accident led to an injury rehabilitation stint and during his time away from baseball Josh fell into the wrong company and developed a serious drug affliction. In 2004 Hamilton was suspended from baseball for drug violations. From 2004 to 2005 Josh didn't play baseball at all. He began his drug rehab and was working with a local Tampa Bay area baseball school and in June 2006 was allowed to work out again with Tampa's minor league players. In the 2006 Rule 5 Draft, the Rays did not protect Hamilton and he was drafted by the Cubs who then dealt Josh to Cincinnati. He stayed with the Reds in '07 but battled injuries (another constant companion) and was productive despite only playing in 90 games. The Texas Rangers liked what they saw and traded Edinson Volquez to acquire Hamilton prior to the '08 season. In 2008 Hamilton hit 32 HR's and led the American League with 130 RBI's. In 2009 Hamilton was sidelined for a large portion of the season with injuries to his rib cage and an abdominal strain limiting him to 89 games. In 2010 Hamilton led the American League in hitting with a .359 average and again slugged 32 HR's winning the American League MVP award. We will see if Hamilton can break his one on - one off pattern and put back to back good seasons together in 2011.

In 2008 Tampa Bay had the first pick in the Amateur Draft. There were several good prospects for the Rays to consider but it seemed to come down to a choice between High School Shortstop phenom Tim Beckham and collegiate standout Catcher Buster Posey from Florida State University. Rays brass decided that the way for the club to go was to draft Beckham. Ugh! Buster Posey was drafted by the San Francisco Giants and quickly ascended to the Major Leagues, getting a brief call up at the tail end of the 2009 season. In 2010 the Giants decided to have Posey split time with veteran backstop Bengie Molina. Posey helped the Giants ditch that plan by proving that he was more than capable of handling the job on a full time basis. Buster would go on to appear in 108 games for San Francisco batting .305 with 18 HR's. He exhibited skills on both sides of the ball as his defense was lauded and his strong arm helped deter base stealer's versus Giants pitchers. Posey capped the season by hitting .300 in the 2010 World Series for the Champion Giants.

How good could my Primetime Franchise Baseball Rays look with Hamilton patrolling the Outfield and Posey backstopping my pitching staff? I should mention that the Rays management hasn't given up on Beckham blossoming into what they first saw, but it has been a slow developmental process for the young man. An additional note must be added. Here are some other names that went in the first round after Tampa Bay chose Beckham:

Pedro Alvarez, Eric Hosmer, Brian Matusz, Posey, Justin Smoak, Brett Wallace, Brett Lawrie, Ike Davis, Andrew Cashner, Ryan Perry, Daniel Schlereth and Conor Gillespie. All have either appeared in the Majors or are still highly rated prospects. Just goes to show you that not only us Amateur GM's make mistakes come draft day!