1st Round: Richie Shaffer, 3B
There was never a question over whether Shaffer was going to sign. The Rays have normally drafted high school players in the first round, and they sometimes come with signability concerns, but with a college pick like Shaffer out of Clemson, he’s definitely going to sign. The fact that he hasn’t yet is a testament to his character as he has let the Rays sign every player possible and basically give him as much money as they can that remains in their draft pool. Shaffer is reportedly close to signing, but I’m sure the Rays would prefer to delay it as much as possible to give them maximum flexibility in terms of signing their picks. The Rays can’t wait to get Shaffer’s power, plate discipline, and leadership in their organization, but they’re waiting in order to maximize the number of players they can sign from their 2012 draft crop.
Likelihood of Signing: 100%

14th Round: Chris Kirsch, LHP
Kirsch has already left two teams shaking their heads by turning down their bonus offers to head to junior college and then to head back to junior college. The Rays love his fastball-curveball combination and have to hope that he is finally going to sign. Kirsch has leverage once again. He is committed to VCU and he has shown that is more than willing to continue his education and put his career on hold. The Rays are going to see how much money it will take to sign him and they’ll give it shot, but whether it happens or not is a 50-50 proposition.
Likelihood of Signing: 50%

29th Round: Keaton Steele, RHP/1B
Steele was a very interesting case from the start, being a two-way player out of Iowa Western CC with potential both on the mound, where he has a sinker-slider repertoire, and at the plate, where he shows pretty good bat speed with some pop. Steele is, like Kirsch, a player committed to a four-year college, committing to the University of Missouri a few days after the draft. Steele always sounded like he would sign, but it will take some money to make that happen and we will have to see whether the Rays’ bonus pool allows them to do that.
Likelihood of Signing: 75% 

31st Round: Taylor Ward, C/OF
Ward was a bizarre selection by the Rays as he is a player who played mostly catcher in high school and has some nice arm strength, but who may stand out most of his speed. Quality catchers may have more overall value, especially in the late rounds, than outfielders, but Ward is not a proven catcher no matter how you shake it. If he really thinks he’s a catcher and wants to raise his value in that vein, he will head to college. Ward is committed to Fresno State. The whole situation is pretty crazy and I don’t think he’s going to sign.
Likelihood of Signing: 15%

36th Round: Brett McAfee, SS
The Rays drafted McAfee, a slick-fielding shortstop with some offensive potential, for the second straight year in 2012 and would love to sign him. But McAfee’s stock is at its lowest after he was injured for the second straight season in 2012, and it doesn’t make any sense for him to sign. If the Rays had money left over, they could take a shot at him (he was willing to sign for 5th round money in 2011), but it seems like they spent it on their 12th round selection, catcher Taylor Hawkins. The indications are that he will head back to Panola JC and try his luck again next year.
Likelihood of Signing: 5%

It seems like at the end of the day, the Rays will sign 38 of their 40 picks and come away with a draft haul that they’re happy with. They would love to sign everybody, but that isn’t always possible and they just have to take advantage of the opportunities they get.

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For scouting reports on the players above and all the Rays’ selections in the 2012 MLB Draft, please see 0ur 2012 Rays Draft Profiles page here at RCG.

27 of the Rays’ 40 picks were college players, 67.5%, the percentage of any draft in Rays history. The Rays selected 35 college players in 2011, but they had 20 more picks in that draft compared to 2012 because of all their supplemental picks as compensation for departed free agents and because the draft was shortened from 50 to 40 rounds in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. 35 divided by 60 is 58.3%. And the number of college players that the Rays selected trails only 2011 in their history. Where are the Rays doing?

The fact that the players are coming out of college obscures the fact that the Rays still drafted a lot of them (12 of 27) for upside. And secondly,  as we touched upon after Day 2, this will allow the Rays to sign as many picks as possible. The Rays drafted just 7 high school players and they’re going to be able to do everything they can to sign all 7. For their 6 junior college selections, some are easier signs than others, but they’ll look to sign as many as possible of them as well. What the Rays did in this draft was maximize their efficiency. College upside picks, especially in the later rounds, can be signed on the cheap but still come with the potential for big reward. And signing those picks cheaply allows the Rays to focus their energies on the tougher high school and junior college players and the funds to potentially get most of them signed. There’s next to no chance that the Rays sign all 40 of their picks. But there’s a real chance they could sign 36 or 37 the way they allotted they picks. Let’s go pick by pick with quick thoughts on the player being selected where they were selected. We’ll give a grade to each pick as well (which has to do with the players based on their draft slots, not necessarily on the players’ abilities or their abilities compared to one another). For actual scouting information on the players, please click the links on each players name.

1st Round: 3B Richie Shaffer- Nice value pick as he could have gone earlier. Gives the Rays legitimate power and a relatively safe bet to make the big leagues as productive corner player. Nothing flashy, but good value. Grade: A-

2nd Round: SS/CF Spencer Edwards- High school shortstop who will likely move to the outfield but was announced as a shortstop. Nice upside as 5-tool prospect, although hitting is most questionable tool. Grade: A

3rd Round: CF Alvin Toles - JC product is speedster in center with 5-tool talent as well, although once again hitting is a little questionable. Grade: A

4th Round: RHP Nolan Gannon- Projectable HS righty with a nice sinker, shows flashes with 12-to-6 curve. Nice upside but will be a project. Grade: B+

5th Round: OF Braylin Jackson- HS outfielder with more hit tool questions, but nice power/speed potential. Grade: B+

6th Round: RHP Damion Carroll- HS arm with mid-90′s velocity, everything else in question. Grade: B

7th Round: CF Marty Gantt- Senior is a great story and has solid tools across the board. Definite potential to be big league contributor. Grade: A-

8th Round: C Luke Maile- Junior has power and plate discipline, too many defensive questions. Grade: B-

9th Round: CF Joey Rickard- Junior can run and play defense. Upside of a 4th outfielder. Grade: B-

10th Round: LHP Sean Bierman- 5th-year senior has injury questions, shifty but not great stuff. Money-saving pick. Grade: C+

11th Round: CF Clayton Henning- High school football wide receiver is extremely raw but shows flashes of 4 tools. Grade: B+

12th Round: C Taylor Hawkins- High school catcher with big-time present power. Hit tool in question but tools defensively as well. Grade: A

13th Round: RHP Dylan Floro- Junior’s stuff regressed since being drafted by Rays out of high school. If restored, has nice upside. Grade: B

14th Round: LHP Chris Kirsch- JC lefty has four pitches including plus fastball and curve that flashes plus. Control is an issue. Grade: A

15th Round: RHP Willie Gabay- Hard throwing JC relief prospect who could move fast. Nice sinker. Grade: B+

16th Round: 2B/SS Tommy Coyle- Junior with solid tools all around with some speed. Utility player upside. Grade: B

17th Round: SS Ryan Dunn- Junior is low for shortstop but fluid actions and surprising power. Valuable if can stay at short. Grade: A-

18th Round: LHP Kevin Brandt- Senior lefty with unimpressive fastball but solid secondary pitches. LOOGY potential. Grade: B

19th Round: 1B Miguel Beltran- Senior has big power potential but looks out-of-shape and other tools are questionable. Grade: C+

20th Round: RHP R.J. Davis- Senior who touches triple-digits with fastball but command and secondary pitch issues. Grade: B+

21st Round: RHP Jon Weaver- Senior reliever is not overpowering but all-around solid arsenal. Middle relief potential. Grade: B

22nd Round: CF Willie Argo- Senior slipped in college but has power-speed upside. Could be a steal at this spot. Grade: A+

23rd Round: INF Reid Redman- 5th-year senior provides sparkling defense at third and second base, great utility profile. Grade: B+

24th Round: 3B Daniel Duran- Senior with nice hit tool but little power and no defensive position. Grade: B-

25th Round: LHP Jordan Harrison- Junior has questionable arsenal other than occasional flashes. Grade: C

26th Round: RHP Jason Wilson- Senior has nice fastball, solid curve, poor control. Shows potential as 4th-5th starter or back-end bullpen. Grade: A-

27th Round: RHP Alex Keudell- Senior features great curve but questionable fastball. Good command. Grade: B

28th Round: LHP Dayne Quist- Little senior lefty with little stuff but great command. Middle relief potential. Grade: B-

29th Round: P/OF Keaton Steele- JC pick has potential as bullpen arm, outfielder. The Rays are going to have fun with him. Grade: A-

30th Round: C Michael Williams- Senior plays solid defense, may hit a little. Grade: B

31st Round: C/OF Taylor Ward- HS pick does not have catcher skill-set, speedy with solid swing. Doubt he stays at catcher long-term. Grade: B-

32nd Round: SS Ben Kline- 5th-year senior has nice defensive tools and rock-solid ability all-around. Potential big league starting SS. Grade: A

33rd Round: LHP Luke Goodgion- Junior has good size, stuff, erratic control. Bullpen potential. Grade: B

34th Round: RHP Ryan Garton- Little senior righty but excellent change and solid all-around arsenal with some projection. Sleeper potential. Grade: A-

35th Round: RHP Kris Carlson- Senior with nasty stuff, fastball hits mid 90′s and great movement on slider, but horrific control. Grade: B+

36th Round: SS Bret McAfee- JC pick selected by Rays for second year in a row. Injury prone, but great defense with some offensive tools. Grade: B+

37th Round: RHP Rob Finneran- 5th-year senior with bulldog mentality and solid stuff. Best pitcher in the history of Bentley University. Grade: B

s38th Round: C Chad Nacapoy- 5th-year senior shows solid defense but needs work and questionable offense. Grade: B-

39th Round: C Geoff Rowan- Senior has untapped tools both offensively and defensively. Definite upside. Grade: B+

40th Round: RHP Nick Sawyer- JC pick has nice fastball-curveball combination but terrible control. Grade: B+

Looking at the grades, they’re mostly within the A’s and B+’s (over half of them are). I certainly didn’t like every pick, but I do really like this draft class. The Rays got several outstanding values from the college guys and some nice upside from the high school and JC ranks. There’s a lot of risk here. Most of these players they have great upside but come with significant questions as well. Most of them will not pan out. But this isn’t a boom or bust draft. There are just so many upside players that a handful of them will have to pan out and the Rays could really end up with several quality big leaguers and a bunch of other minor contributors from this draft class. It was strange that the Rays drafted so many college players, but they chose the best ones they could find and ones with often considerable potential and that’s all that really matters. And then there’s the factor that since the Rays drafted so many college players, it should help them get nearly everybody signed. This is a very interesting draft class by the Rays and it’s going to be exciting to see the Rays get these guys signed and have them start their pro careers, and we’ll have to see how they develop.

In the 29th round, the Rays selected Keaton Steele, 6’3″ and 225 pounds out of Iowa Western Community College. Notice that I didn’t list a position. Steale saw time all over the place at Iowa Western CC, seeing time at third base, first base, the outfield, and on the mound for the Reivers. The Rays chose to designate him as a right-handed pitcher. Wherever he actually ends up is anybody’s guess.

It was a mob scene after Steele recorded the final out to gives Western Iowa the Juco championship. (Credit: Western Iowa News)

In the National Junior College Championship game, it was the Keaton Steele show. Steele hit a go-ahead 2-run homer, later gave the Reivers another lead with a sac fly, and then he moved to the mound to close out the game as the Reivers were national junior college champions. That was a glimpse of Steele’s various talents.

Steele tossed just 9.2 innings all season, posting an 8.38 ERA but striking out 14 while walking 4. But he has shown a nice sinker-slider arsenal that could give him a future in a relief role. His sinker in the low-90′s features heavy sink when it’s at its best, with enough movement to force swings and misses. When hitters finally think they’ve figured out the movement on his sinker, Steele can go to a sweeping slider with a little more movement that looks like it could be an effective if not plus pitch. Considering Steele has never been primarily a pitcher before, the control and command problems he has experienced are not much of an issue, and he could add a little velocity as well once he gets more comfortable on the mound. Steele could be a player who moves quickly if he acclimates himself well to a full-time relief role.

But you can’t discount Steele as a position player- he did hit .438 for the Reivers in 2012 in 110 at-bats. Steele shows nice bat speed with some lift and power in his swing. He needs work on his plate discipline, but he has the ability to drill line drives all over the field. Steele is a good athlete and he could handle right field, although his power may not quite be enough for the position. He has some raw hitting tools, and the Rays could change their mind and choose to develop those.

I’m sure Joe Maddon would salivate over having a player on his team that was a super-super-utilityman- able to play not just the outfield and infield but also provide a solid arm out of the bullpen. I’m sure that even when the Rays commit Steele to hitting or pitching they’ll give him at least some time in the other role to give him that type of crazy versatility.

Steele is probably more talented on the mound, but his potential for unheard of versatility makes him even more interesting. Getting any type of major leaguer in the 29th round would be a great value, but getting as eccentric a big leaguer as Steele has a chance to be would just magnify that even more.