More Elite Talent En Route to Tampa Bay

The logical concern for a team with a small budget and a boatload of homegrown talent is being able to hold onto that young talent. The Rays have been able to lock up some of those stars like Evan Longoria, but inevitably are going to lose others. Carl Crawford, for one, could very well find himself on a new team in the near future as free agency looms.

It's foolish to believe that it's easy to replace players of his caliber, but the Rays are in a position to do it about as well as any club in baseball. Some farm systems are deep, and some systems, like the Rays', have not just depth, but a crop of potential stars on the horizon. Fear not, Tampa Bay fans. There is plenty of help on the way.

Sure, plenty of teams can boast high-upside talent. Tampa Bay certainly can, but the difference is that its talent is right on the doorstep of the big leagues, and two of the first names that jump to mind are Desmond Jennings, pictured, and Jeremy Hellickson.

Hellickson, a 22-year-old right-hander, hasn't exactly flown under the radar, but still has not gotten the credit he deserves. After handling Double-A and Triple-A with ease, he should now be front and center after in the Rays' system after being mentioned behind names like David Price and Wade Davis for years.

Let's examine what Hellickson brings to the table and why he figures to make the adjustment to big-league baseball easier than most young pitchers. Tasked with taking a long look at him in 2009, I had the opportunity to see Hellickson in his time with Double-A Montgomery. There were a number of things that had me thinking that not only was Hellickson close to big-league ready, but that he should be viewed among the elite pitching prospects in baseball.

The first thing you notice is his delivery. He has a compact, silky smooth motion that is in rhythm at all times. This is not a guy that looks like a 22-year-old on the mound. He has a firm handle on his mechanics and repeats them with ease.

The complete package of stuff is very interesting. Many prospects arrive in the big leagues, as highly touted as they may be, with big fastballs and a go-to secondary pitch. A third pitch is often absent initially and can make or break whether a pitcher takes the next step. This won't be an issue for Hellickson as he's a full-fledged three-pitch pitcher, and he also mixes a harder breaking ball that's more like a slider. His plus curveball sits at 72-76 mph with sharp, late action.

He has the confidence to throw it for strikes in any count and go just far enough out of the strike zone when needed. His harder breaking ball, which sits around 78-83 mph also looks like a swing-and-miss pitch. And although his changeup grades about average at the next level, he knows how to locate it with some good fading action. It should be more than enough to keep him out of trouble against the lefty hitters.

Can a pitcher locate in any quadrant of the strike zone with an above-average fastball? If the answer is yes, you usually have the makings of an outstanding pitcher. With his 91-94 mph fastball and ability to get to the inside and outside corners with precision, Hellickson shouldn't run into the typical problems young pitchers have with mistakes over the middle of the plate.

What you may see is a pitcher who nibbles at the outset of his career as he adjusts to MLB umpires. He has a cerebral approach and will pick at the corners at times. As he matures and learns the big-league game, however, his mastery of the corners should come to be his trademark.

Take that command, feel for pitching, repeatable mechanics, and above-average raw stuff and you have the makings of a pitcher that could perform at the top end of a rotation. On a contending team, Hellickson profiles as a very strong No. 2 or 3 starter. There are plenty of arms in the minors that have comparable stuff, but not many that can match his ability to throw exceptionally high-quality strikes.

Jennings is a player that belongs in every conversation about the best prospects in baseball. There are few things as beautiful from a scout's perspective as seeing a player with physical tools to dream on that also has a real feel for the game. The 23-year-old Jennings is a classic example of that combination. Raw athletes are drafted every year, and the odds of them panning out are very low. When on-the-field production catches up with elite physical skills, the result is a prospect like Jennings.

We know the story of the physical tools, the fantastic speed and athleticism, so let's focus on his abilities at the plate. His ability to let the ball track deep in the zone, make very consistent contact and fight off tough pitches gives him an approach similar to Derek Jeter's. Obviously that is high praise to live up to, but it is that professionalism and prowess at the plate that separates Jennings from the other toolsy athletes floating around in the minor leagues. It is not unreasonable to expect that type of offensive production from Jennings either. Like Jeter, he has a unique knack at the plate that few hitters have.

The logical question among Rays' fans about Jennings is, of course, will he be ready to contribute in 2010? The same question goes for Hellickson. And the answer is a resounding yes in both cases. Will the Rays need them? Perhaps not, but any extra seasoning they are given in the minors is purely supplementary.

The reality is that Tampa Bay has another wave of outstanding young talent that is all but forcing its way onto the big-league stage.

Frankie Piliere spent the last three seasons working as a scout, most recently in the professional scouting department for the Texas Rangers in 2009. He now serves as the National Baseball Analyst here at FanHouse.