Sheaffer was the 20th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox in the 1981 January MLB Draft out of Harrisburg Area Community College as a well-regarded catching prospect and would make his pro debut at the Red Sox’ Short Season-A Elmira affiliate that season, managing a nice .288/.365/.455 line with 9 doubles, 8 homers, and 29 RBI in 62 games. He ranked second on the Pioneers in batting average and third in doubles and home runs, and as a 19 year old catcher, that was especially impressive. He was good enough that the Red Sox sent him up to Double-A Bristol for 8 emergency games as a backup catcher, although he went 0 for 12. Considering the Red Sox utilized the unimpressive platoon of rookie Rich Gedman (who finished second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting for no apparent reason, hitting .288 but in just 62 games) and third-year player Gary Allenson, Sheaffer had a chance to seize the Red Sox’ catching job in short order if he could continue playing well. But then things immediately got off track.

Sheaffer moved up to Low-A Winter Haven for 1982, but his strong performance could not keep up as he managed just a .250/.298/.323 line with 5 home runs in 82 games. Returning to Low-A at Boston’s Winston-Salem affiliate, Sheaffer rebounded to the tune of a .276/.337/.442 line with 14 doubles, 15 homers, and 63 RBI in 112 games in 1983. But that season proved to be only a brief reprieve from a series of struggles. Sheaffer managed just a .241/.302/.284 line in 93 games at Double-A New Britain in 1984 then only a moderately better .259/.311/.395 line with 8 home runs in 77 games at Triple-A Pawtucket in 1985. But in 1986, he improved to a .340 average with 16 doubles in 79 games at Pawtucket, and the following spring training, he caught fire and made the Red Sox’ Opening Day roster. He was 25 years old and had progressed far more slowly than he would have hoped, but he finally had cracked the major league roster. And in his first major league game, things could not have gone any better. Sheaffer began his career 0 for 2, but he singled in his third at-bat and then In the 7th inning with the Red Sox down a run, Sheaffer drilled a game-tying home run. Then in his second game, Sheaffer laced a go-ahead single and then a run-scoring double to ice the game. But those would prove to be Sheaffer’s last highlights in a Red Sox uniform. He went just 1 fo 26 in his next 9 games before being sent down to the minors and then just 3 for 32 in two other stins with the team. He spent 1988 back at Pawtucket, managing just a .274/.321/.348 line with just 1 home run in 98 games. What he did do, though, was everything he could to stay productive for his team, stealing 20 bases and seeing time in the outfield and at third base in addition to catcher. The Red Sox, though, had seen enough and let Sheaffer leave as a minor league free agent.

Sheaffer’s career was on the fringes. He had gone from top prospect to a Quad-A player constantly on the move. Over the next four years, he bounced from the Indians to Pirates to Twins organizations, appearing in just 7 major leagues games. But the following season, MLB expanded, adding the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies, and Sheaffer seized the opportunity to sign with the Rockies as a free agent. He split time at catcher and also got into a few games at first base, left field, and first base, managing a .278 average with 4 home runs in 82 games and throwing out 29% of attempted basestealers. He had one more mediocre season with the Rockies before finishing his career with 3 seasons playing for the Cardinals, beginning as a backup catcher but playing third base increasingly more as his time with the Cardinals progressed and actually seeing time at every position on the field but pitcher and shortstop. He retired in 1998, one year after his final time in the big leagues, having logged 389 career major league games, hitting .232 with 13 home runs across 7 seasons. He continued his baseball career as a manager beginning in 2000 at Short Season-A Eugene in the Cubs organization and then moving on to Double-A New Haven, Low-A Peoria, where he led the Chiefs to a championship, and then four years at Triple-A Memphis. He then served for four years as a catching coordinator in the Houston Astros organization before moving into his new role as Princeton Rays manager for next season.

Several of the players Danny Sheaffer will manage next season will be top prospects, and Sheaffer was once in their shoes. He knows what it’s like to have expectations imposed upon you at a young age and to have all the pressure on you to perform. He knows what it’s like to succeed, and he also knows how it feels to fail. And he understands that even when everything comes apart, you still have to persevere and do whatever you can to find a way to overcome whatever is in front of you. For the Rays, having someone like Sheaffer teaching players among the youngest in their organization is an incredible luxury and something they are thrilled came together. Under Sheaffer, the 2013 Princeton Rays will learn exactly what it takes to fulfill their dreams of playing in the major leagues, and no matter what happens on the field, the mental toughness Sheaffer will help them develop will be something that carries them wherever their careers will lead.

Daniel Bream, a projectable 6’6″, 185 right-hander who turned 24 in August, was the Rays’ 33rd round pick in 2011 and pitched decently as he moved up to Princeton this season, going 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA, a 7.5 K/9, a 4.6 BB/9, and a 0.5 HR/9 in 17 relief appearances and 35 IP. Bream’s peripherals were not great, but with further polish, he has a chance to be a solid middle reliever someday. This season, lefties were much worse than righties against Bream, managing just a .616 OPS compared to .734, but the difference in strikeout to walk ratio is staggering going the other way, as Bream managed just a 3-7 K-BB verus lefties compared to 22-9 versus right-handers. Bream throws a low-90′s fastball with run away from right-handed batters and good life up in the zone but he struggles to control and command it and his secondary pitches aren’t there at this point. He might add velocity in the future if he fills out. He also throws a curveball and a changeup. Bream is going to need to make significant improvement and fast because of his age if he’s going to reach his potential, but he shows flashes with his fastball and that gives him a chance.

23 year old 6’3″, 200 righty Zach Butler was selected in the 34th round of the 2011 draft, one round after Bream. But after a great season at Princeton, he could be a candidate to get on the fast-track to the major leagues. Butler went 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA, an 8.5 K/9, a 3.3 BB/9, a 0.3 HR/9, and 7 saves in 22 appearances and 32.2 IP. Butler’s stuff can hardly be described as electric, but he shows nice polish with room to grow. He throws his fastball right around 90 MPH but controls it well although he leaves it up in the zone too often. His best pitch is his sharp 11-to-5 curveball that racked up quite a few swings and misses versus Rookie ball hitters, especially right-handed batters. He also throws a decent changeup, although it’s more of a groundball offering than a strikeout pitch. With progress on his fastball command and changeup, Butler has a chance to be a solid big league middle reliever and before very long. The Rays had enough faith in Butler to move him up to High-A Charlotte for an emergency 2-batter appearance. Butler is ready for full-season ball in 2012 and if he continues to pitch well, he has a chance to be in the big leagues in two or three years.

We finally get to a 2012 pick in 20th rounder Randy Davis, a 6’3″, 230 right-hander who is about to turn 23. His stats were decent this season as he went 4-0 with a 2.63 ERA, a 7.6 K/9, a 4.6 BB/9, and a 0.0 HR/9 in 19 appearances and 27.1 IP. But the stats don’t tell nearly the whole story here. Davis throws in the high-90′s with his fastball, touching triple-digits, and also throws a serviceable slider. His fastball is straight and he can’t control or command either pitch well, but the raw ability is there for Davis to be a dominant late inning reliever someday. We’ll have to see if that ever materializes, but Davis is worth a look as he tries to make that happen.

Another player about to turn 23 is fellow right-hander Pedro Silvestre, who is 6’2″ and 185 pounds and was signed out of the Dominican Republican. Silvestre was solid this season, going 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA, an 8.2 K/9, a 1.6 BB/9, and a 1.2 HR/9 in 12 appearances and 22 IP. Silvestre is a little interesting as he throws a low-90′s fastball with good late life and a solid slider, both of which he throws for strikes. But he gets into trouble with command as he leaves both of his pitches up in the zone far too often, leading to too much hard contact. Silvestre has potential, and it’s interesting that he has good control at this point, but like so many of these Rookie ball pitchers, he needs to work hard to find some command before he can go anywhere.

The highest draft pick we’ll deal with here is Chris Kirsch, 20, who was the Rays’ 14th round pick in this year’s draft. Kirsch, a 6’2″,  185 right-hander, got into only 10 games for Princeton and had his share of struggles, going 2-2 with an 8.10 ERA, an 8.1 K/9, a 4.9 BB/9, and a 1.1 HR/9 in 16.2 IP. Kirsch’s debut was rocky, but the sample size was so small and the Rays believe he has a chance to be a good pitcher someday, and although he relieved in his pro debut, he has the ability to be a starter moving forward. Kirsch throws a low-90′s fastball that touches 94 MPH with good late bite as the headliner for his 4-pitch arsenal. He also throws a curveball, slider, and changeup, with the curveball, which features sharp 1-to-7 action, the best of the bunch thus far. Kirsch’s major issue right now is command and control. Kirsch actually posted a nice 51.1% groundball rate in Princeton thanks to his fastball’s late bite, but too often he had no idea where his fastball was going and he got hit hard. His other pitches, especially the curveball, show flashes, but he can throw any of them consistently for strikes at this point. Kirsch has significant upside and even has the type of 4-pitch arsenal you want to see from a starter, but he’s still raw in terms of command and control and the Rays will take it slow with him. Kirsch has the stuff to be well worth the wait if everything pans out.

And we close out this series with the Princeton Rays’ breakout star, right-handed reliever Nick Sawyer. Sawyer, who turned 21 in September, is an unimposing figure at 5’11″, 175 and was the Rays’ final pick in the 2012 MLB Draft way down in Round 40. But looks can be deceiving. Sawyer overpowered opposing hitters all season and they could never figure him out. Sawyer, moved up from the Rays’ lowest-level American affiliate in the GCL Rays up to Princeton before finishing the year in full-season ball at Low-A Bowling Green, and he was dominant the whole way through, going 4-1 with a 0.28 ERA, a ridiculous 16.6 K/9, a 3.9 BB/9, and a 0.0 HR/9 in 20 appearances, 15 of which came with the P-Rays, and 32 IP. Hitters could not make contact against Sawyer, striking out in an unbelievable 50% of their plate appearances against him. And they had no better luck on the rare occasions when they did put the ball into play. According to Minor League Central, Sawyer’s groundball rate was a great 51.2%, but even more impressive may be his line drive rate, which came in a 7.0%, less than half the average of the leagues he played in. How did Sawyer do it? Better yet, how did a pitcher with the ability to deliver an electrifying performance like this be selected in the final round of the draft after 1231 other players? The answer is that something clicked suddenly for Sawyer. As soon as the Rays drafted Sawyer, we knew he was an upside pick. Sawyer features a low-90′s fastball with sharp late bite to go along with a tight 11-to-5 curveball, and he threw both of them from a violent crossfire delivery that adds a ton of deception. The question with him was going to be command and control, which stemmed from the fact that he could not consistently deliver the ball out of the same arm slot because of his nature of his throwing motion. Well, Sawyer did not exactly become a control artist in his pro debut, walking 3.9 batters per 9 innings. But he was able to find a more consistent arm slot and stay around the zone, and hitters didn’t have a chance. With his pitches’ late movement, Sawyer was certainly a candidate to force a ton of swings-and-misses if he could sell his pitches as strikes. Sawyer’s 43.7% swinging strikeout rate was more than 10% higher than the closest pitcher in the Appalachian League minimum 20 innings pitched. But the difference with Sawyer was that he found a way to locate his fastball for strikes, getting ahead in the count and forcing hitters to protect the plate and swing at his pitches that disappeared out of the zone thanks to their sharp movement. Sawyer still has a lot of work to do before he can think about continuing to dominate like this at higher levels. He needs to continue to improve his control and command, especially of his breaking ball. Its movement is dynamic but more advanced hitters will not flail at it as much as Rookie ball hitters did. But Sawyer made a breakthrough in his pro debut, and he has the upside of a dominant closer in the major leagues someday. Sawyer should start 2012 back at Low-A Bowling Green, and if he can continue to dominate hitters while improving the location of his pitches, the big leagues will not be far away.

That will wrap up our discussion of the 2012 Princeton Rays. The Rays have to be excited about the amount of talent that passed through Princeton this season. There is a ton of ability, the majority of it raw, but with continued development, several of the players on this Princeton team have a chance to be key big league contributors for the Rays and a few of them could even be stars. It could be a while before we see dividends from this team in the majors. No matter how well anyone performed, Rookie ball is miles and miles away from the big leagues. But the Rays are optimistic about the possibilities and confident that in a few years, some of these players could be the cornerstones of the next generation of the Tampa Bay Rays.

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For the earlier five parts of this series, please check out our Minor League Affiliates Analysis page.

Alex Keudell, 22, is the first pitcher we’ll discuss today, but he may have some chance to remain a starter. Keudell, the Rays’ 27th round draft pick in 2012, split time between starting and relieving for the P-Rays, starting primarily in the latter part of the season, and pitched well, going 3-4 with a 2.28 ERA, an 8.7 K/9, a 2.3 BB/9, and a 0.6 HR/9 in 6 starts, 10 relief appearances, and 43.2 IP. Per Minor League Central, his groundball rate was a solid 46.2%. Keudell, the University of Oregon’s this past season, stands out most because of a devastating 11-to-5 curveball that is his one true plus pitch. His other pitches are still in question. His fastball usually sits in the high-80′s, touching 90 MPH, and featuring late sink when Keudell is at his best. Considering Keudell is 6’3″, 205, the Rays hope that Keudell has a little projection remaining and can get his fastball consistently to the 90-91 MPH range and get the late action more often. His third pitch is a solid changeup. Keudell’s curveball is a weapon, but will he be able to establish his fastball enough to use it effectively? As a reliever, it seems strange to have a guy coming out of the bullpen starting off with breaking balls. That’s why it’s almost easier to see Keudell as a 4th or 5th starter type if he can improve his fastball to the point where it’s a second above-average pitch for him and maybe add a cutter. Keudell is an interesting case in the Rays system as he features the fastball-curveball-changeup combination that the Rays love, but he’s one of the few pitchers in the Rays’ system whose best pitch of those three is his curveball. Keudell’s ceiling doesn’t blow you away and he still has plenty of work still to do. But he has as good of a chance as any of these P-Rays players to make it to the big leagues someday in some capacity.

Jacob Faria, 19, is still a developing story in the Rays system. The Rays’ 10th round pick in 2011, Faria signed for $150,000, an above-slot bonus, but not nearly as much as you would expect for a high schooler with any prospect hype to sign for. Nevertheless, Faria has potential. A projectable 6’3″, 175, Faria went 3-4 with a 5.14 ERA in 2012 with a 7.3 K/9,  1.9 BB/9, and a 1.3 HR/9 in 5 starts, 8 relief appearances, and 42 IP. In terms of his stuff, Faria has absolutely nothing going on at this point other than solid control. His fastball is just in the high-80′s with solid movement, but he fails to get a downward plane on it and allows way too much hard contact, especially in the air. He also throws a curveball and a changeup, both of which he can throw for strikes and show flashes of good movement, but more advanced hitters won’t be fooled by simply the difference in velocity. Faria has to fill out before we can even start talking about him as a prospect. You hope that once he adds 25 or more pounds of muscle, hopefully his fastball velocity will get to the low-90′s at least, and then you can worry about his other pitches.

The Rays think that Brandt has a real chance to contribute at the big league level someday. (Credit: US PRESSWIRE)

Kevin Brandt, 22, is a 6’1″, 195 lefty who was drafted in the 18th round of the draft by the Rays this year. Brandt was great in his pro debut, going 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA, a 10.8 K/9, a 1.9 BB/9, and a 0.8 HR/9 in 4 starts, 8 relief appearances, and 36 IP for Princeton. Brandt dominated as a college pitcher should at Rookie ball. Brandt overpowered the younger hitters with a low-90′s fastball with good life, a sharp slider, and a solid changeup. He was completely unhittable against lefties, who went just 0 for 20 against him with 1 walk and 12 strikeouts, and although right-handers managed a .760 OPS, he did strike out 31 versus just 5 walks. Brandt won’t be nearly as dominant moving forward as he struggles with fastball command and his breaking stuff gets inconsistent, but he has a chance to move forward with a chance to be a big league lefty reliever, possibly one that can get both lefties and righties out if he can improve his changeup, but otherwise an effective situational lety. Brandt isn’t nearly exciting as his numbers this year, but he’s a player with a real chance to be a big league contributor someday.

Jon Weaver, 22, is a 6’3″, 215 right-hander who is another 2012 draftee, having been selected in the 21st round of this year’s draft. Weaver really struggled in his pro debut for Princeton, but there are some encouraging signs for him. Weaver went 0-6 with a 5.85 ERA, an 8.4 K/9, a 4.5 BB/9, and a 1.1 HR/9 in 3 starts, 16 relief appearances, and 32.1 IP. His groundball rate was a decent 45.1%. Weaver features an interesting repertoire. His fastball ranges in the low-90′s with late movement down and away from right-handed batters, and that was the offering he really relied on in his pro debut. He throws two other pitches worth a look, an 11-to-5 curveball that has flashed plus with tight break and a changeup that shows good sink, but he was unable to get a feel for them. With his fastball being his only consistently reliable offering, Weaver was in trouble when he couldn’t command it, especially against left-handed batters, since its movement took it right into the usual lefty power zone down-and-in if he missed too badly. Weaver was OK against right-handed batters in terms of peripheral stats, posting a 25-11 strikeout to walk ratio and a 48.7% groundball rate although they posted .303/.383/.485 line against him. Weaver doesn’t have the most electric arm, but if can get a handle on his secondary pitches, he has a chance to be a middle reliever in the big leagues. Weaver’s pro career got off to a tough start this season, but with refinement he has some potential.

Hugo Duarte was an unknown prospect entering this season and given his age, 22, and ERA this season, he probably still deserves to be. But the 6’1″, 169 right-hander who the Rays signed out of Venezuela back in 2006 managed some interesting underlying stats that are worth a glance. On the season, Duarte went 1-3 for the P-Rays with just an 8.53 ERA but an 8.2 K/9, a 2.8 BB/9, and a 0.6 HR/9 in 2 starts, 12 relief appearances, and 31.2 IP. His groundball rate was a horrific 32.3%. Duarte throws a fastball in the low-90′s with good life up in the zone- but when he loses command, he gets destroyed- while his secondary pitches, a curveball and a changeup, are a work in progress. Duarte is a long way from making an impact at A-ball, let alone the majors, but his strikeout, walk, and homer rates this year were a good sign, and we’ll have to see if he can continue to develop.

Joan Guerrero is left-handed and is a 6’2″, 170 lefty signed by the Rays out of the Dominican Republic back in 2007. Beyond that, I have absolutely no idea. He also was horrific this year for the P-Rays, going 1-0 with a 5.47 ERA, a 6.9 K/9, a 5.8 BB/9, and a 1.1 HR/9 in 1 starts, 13 relief appearances, and 24.2 IP. His groundball rate was just 30%. He was terrible against both lefties and righties. Guessing based on the numbers, he throws a halfway-decent fastball in the low-90′s and a bunch of secondary pitches he can’t control. Guerrero is a lefty. But let’s see some results or something before we seriously talk about him.

Willie Gabay was also absolutely horrendous in his pro debut in 2012. But the Rays feel that he has the ability to be a lot better and fast. Gabay, a 6’0″, 180 right-hander, was the Rays’ 15th round pick in 2012 and put up ugly numbers in his pro debut, going 2-1 with a 7.77 ERA, a 9.4 K/9, a 6.1 BB/9, and a 2.0 HR/9 in 1 starts, 14 relief appearances, and 22 IP. His groundball rate was a nice 46.9%, but he struggled against batters from both sides. Gabay throws a fastball that touches 94 MPH with natural late cutting action. The problem is that he has a ton of trouble controlling it and commanding it at this point, and that led to a ton of hard contact, but primarily he was beating himself. His secondary pitches, a late-breaking low-80′s slider and a changeup with some sink, flash plus when he make them look like strikes, and he was able to get a good amount of swing-and-misses against the inexperienced hitters he was facing, but they need a lot of improvement to look plus often enough to be consistently effective. Gabay’s stuff is awfully impressive and when something clicks, he could move quickly through the minor leagues. That certainly didn’t happen this year, but the Rays hope it will happen soon.

That’s where we’ll stop for right now. We see that these relievers may not have so much upside, but they have the ability to make an impact in the major leagues in less time than you would expect- if everything ever clicks for them. Their stuff is excellent and you just have to hope the control and everything else comes with time.

For the first 4 Parts of this series and our analysis on the GCL Rays as well, please check out our new Minor League Affiliates Analysis page here at RCG.