The Rays have announced a deal with their second-highest draft choice, Arizona State shortstop Alika Williams. He’ll earn a $1.85MM bonus, per Robert Murray (via Twitter).
Williams was taken 37th overall, with the Rays’ competitive balance round A selection. That pick came with a $2.00MM pool allocation, meaning the organization has kept a bit of extra draft capital to apply to other chosen players — in particular, first rounder Nick Bitsko, whom the Rays will try to lure away from a commitment to U.Va.
Most draft observers expected Williams to be taken in this range. Baseball America had the loftiest grade on him, placing him 31st among this year’s draft-eligible prospects.
Williams is viewed as a quality glove man at one of the game’s premium defensive positions. While he’s not necessarily expected to become an explosive offensive performer, Williams looks to have a strong hit tool with at least some remaining potential to build into some power.
I lika that signing.
Alika it a lot!
Nick Bitsko*
Good signing for the Rays. They already have good talent and are bringing more to the table
Man. With the cheating scandals in recent history, I always panic a bit when I see “Sign” in a headline…
“Signs?” Even worse.
Alika might have been, pound for pound, the best defender among the college crowd this year. And while the Rays are well fortified with middle IFs, none of the Franco/Edwards, Brujan crowd is really a shortstop.
WHEN the super ball goes away (probably not this year; MLB is going to want those 60 games to be home run derbys), defense is going to be important again…it’s almost nonexistant now. So this was a pretty good move for the future.
Huh? Defense is pretty important now. Alika is a great defender but profiles as a mediocre hitter. Not going to pretend we know his future, but they don’t deserve extra praise for taking a guy with his profile that high.
good floor to equal out Bitsko’s risk
Another shortstop…. we have too many now. We need a catcher