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The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly going to start Wil Myers in AAA to begin the 2013 season. I view this as a massive mistake, as this kid has done nothing but mash at the minor league level. I fail to recognize what he needs to do down there, but I guess they know their player better than I do. I look at it as a way to potentially delay his arbitration clock, which I guess is the normal thing to do nowadays for the top prospects in the game. However, what happens if Myers hits everything thrown to him this spring? Do you still send him down?
I look at it like this. The Rays traded one of their best starters in James Shields to the Kansas City Royals to get this kid. If he’s ready, he’s ready. Why hold him back? I would like to think they don’t have an answer to where he’s going to start the year just yet, and will let spring training determine but…I’m not so sure that’s the case here.
We’ll see what happens as spring training nears, but it sure seems like the Rays have their minds made up about the top prospect in their rich farm system, and arguably the best hitting prospect in all of baseball. I hope it doesn’t come back to bite them in the butt in September when they lose a series of games in April and May due to the lack of offense. That certainly would be a shame, wouldn’t it?
