Tampa Bay Rays Draft – Players to Know: Cole Wilcox, RHP

The Tampa Bay Rays are preparing for the draft on June 10. The Rays have two picks in the first round.

Despite having the top farm system in the game, the Tampa Bay Rays aren’t perfect. There is room to improve in this year’s draft. Today we take a look at one area of weakness and which players they are likely to select with their first pick of the draft.

Before that, here is some basic information on the draft.

The 2020 MLB draft will be held on June 10-11. The draft will only be five-rounds this year and begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET and will be aired on both ESPN and the MLB Network. The two-night event will begin with 37 picks. This covers both the first round and Competitive Balance Round A picks.

The second day will begin at 5 p.m. ET on June 11 and will begin with pick 38. The Tampa Bay Rays’ first pick comes at the 24th spot in the draft. They will also receive the final pick of the first day.

Total Tampa Bay Rays Picks

1. Round One – Pick 24
2. Comp. Round One – Pick 37
3. Round Two – Pick 57
4. Round Three – Pick 96
5. Round Four – Pick 126
6. Round Five – Pick 156

Here are a couple of links to prospects we’ve identified as players you need to know:

• C, Dillon Dingler
• 3B, Jordan Walker
• RHP, Bryce Jarvis

Tampa Bay Rays Potential Prospect – RHP Cole Wilcox, Georgia

Cole Wilcox was drafted in 2018 out of high school by the Washington Nationals. He opted to head to Georgia where has improved his draft stock up to a first-round prospect. Wilcox has upside with his secondary pitches but the attention grabber for the 6-5 righty is his fastball.

His heater can reach up to 100 mph with movement. Some scouts suggest that his delivery we need some work and despite the plus fastball, it has a tendency to get pounded because he presents the ball to hitters on his delivery.

In the video below, you get a great view of his delivery.

Wilcox was off to a great start at Georgia in 2020 with a 3-0 record in four starts. He allowed just four earned runs in 23.0 innings while walking two and striking out 32 hitters. There is speculation as to whether he would ultimately be used as a reliever, but with a fastball that can touch 100 on the radar gun with tailing action, a lot of teams will be interested in seeing what they can get out of the soon-to-be 21-year-old.

Cole Wilcox is a player to watch in tonight’s draft.