Rocco Baldelli - Courtesy Durham Bulls

 

Rocco Baldelli
Outfielder

DURHAM, N.C.--Rocco Baldelli, opened the season in Class A and finished it in the Triple-A as an International League champion with the Durham Bulls.

Baldelli blossomed into one of the best prospects in baseball this season after getting off to a slow start in his professional career. He was the sixth overall pick in the 2000 draft after a standout career as an all-around athlete in high school in Rhode Island.

He opened the season at Class A Bakersfield and hit .333 with 14 homers and 51 RBI in 77 games with the Blaze to earn a promotion to Double-A Orlando in July.

"We were holding the Bakersfield club together as long as we could and we decided to move him to Double-A after the All-Star Game," said Devil Rays Director of Player Personnel Cam Bonifay. "He didn't stop there. It was as if he was playing in the same league."

In fact, Baldelli did not slow down at all and his time with the Orlando Rays in the Southern League was short. Rocco hit .371 with two homers and 13 RBI in just 17 games in Double-A.

Just three weeks later, he moved up again to Triple-A Durham.

"It's a big jump, but I decided that it would be time to challenge him at the Triple-A level," Bonifay said. "If he would have had a different result at Double-A, then he would not have seen Triple-A."

 The Bulls wanted him as their leadoff hitter as they pushed for the playoffs. The move paid off as Baldelli sparked Durham into winning the International League title, while remaining undefeated throughout the 2002 Governors' Cup Playoffs.

Rocco hit a combined .331 with 19 home runs, 71 RBIs and 26 steals this season.

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