For Delmon Young, the road to the Show for this soon-to-be 21-year-old has hit a major detour.
Young, the younger brother of Detroit's Dmitri Young, has been honored as the Devil Rays' top prospect due predominantly to his dynamic bat. He was the No. 10 player in the MLN FAB50 Baseball 2004 rankings, the No. 2 player in the MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 rankings, and the number one player in separate Baseball America and MiLB polls. He was the top player on the Devil Rays’ farm in 2005.
The good news for Young is that he is still unquestionably Tampa Bay's top minor league prospect for the second straight year. The bad news is that Delmon has a temper which is hurting his career.
The Restless Young
Young's contentious relationship with officiating began a three-game suspension after bumping a Southern League umpire in a game in April, 2005.
That paled in comparison to the main event of April of this year when he threw a bat at one of the International League's replacement umpires, displayed world-wide via YouTube.com and the front pages of newspapers in the now infamous video of his plate beef with an umpire replacing striking umps that ended with his bat thrown at, and striking, the official.
Yes, he’s THAT minor league player, much as he would like you to know him for everything else good that he does on the field.
Young’s mercurial temperament has proven, at the very least, to be an embarrassing public relations liability for the Devil Rays.
It’s a point that hopefully hasn’t been lost on him. The rightfielder garnered a record $140,000 fine, a hefty 50-game suspension, and minimal community service. Young was allowed to stay in Durham and workout, and hang out, with his club during his suspension.
The pothole in Young’s road to the Show has teeth and a tongue. In a conference call, after being named Baseball America's player of the year, he expressed his displeasure with not getting a September call-up from the Devil Rays.
"The only way to get better in the big leagues is to be around the big leagues," Young said during the call.
There are those in the Tampa organization who privately wish that Young could be put on the DL for running mouth.
At the end of July of this year, the media department in Tampa broke out the Maalox from the filing cabinet once again: Young, along with teammates B.J. Upton and Elijah Dukes, stirred the pot up in a USA Today story.
The trio blasted the Devil Rays organization for being too deliberate regarding personnel decisions.
"I don't know what they're waiting for,” Young is quoted as saying. “They're what, 30 games out of first place? They think we're going to mess up their clubhouse chemistry. B.J. [Upton] should be up there. What are they waiting for? They always have excuses."
Delmon may not be politically correct, but he may be right. The Devil Rays have had championship farm clubs in Durham, and some of the brightest talent on any farm year after year, yet the organization can’t seem to energize their rookie players into a winning clubhouse at the major league level. Originally a Pinella problem, D-Rays Manager Madden, who brought former Durham Bulls skipper Bill Evers aboard, is trying to turn the prospect problem around.
BJ Upton, a past No. 1 FAB50 player, and No. 3 in 2005, finally pulled a late season call-up. Delmon, however, remains in the doghouse in Durham.
He Shall Overcome
Can Delmon Young’s talent terminate the terrible takes on his temper tantrums?
Young's stormy summer hasn't deterred his performance at the plate.
"He's going to be a real good major league player, that's for sure," said Richie Hebner, Young's hitting coach at Triple-A Durham. "He's one of the better hitters that I've seen in the minor leagues in the last 15 years or so."
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 June draft, the outfielder was hitting a healthy .335 and slugging nearly .500 with 51 RBIs through 68 games this year. Before his suspension, Young was batting .329 in 21 games.
"He's learned from that bat-throwing incident," Hebner said. "He's grown up, and he's a real pleasant kid to be around."
Young was the Southern League MVP in 2005 despite being promoted from Double-A Montgomery to Triple-A Durham in mid-July, falling eight at-bats shy of qualifying for that league's batting championship with a sparkling .336 average.
He was also on pace to win the triple crown, cracking 20 homers and knocking in 71 runs in 84 games for the Biscuits.
At Durham, Young continued to blossom, though he finished with a somewhat disappointing, for Delmon, .285 average. His highlights included a 13-game hitting streak, and a triple-play he started in a game against Norfolk in August when he snared a sinking liner, then gunned down a runner at the plate.
"He's got a tremendous arm," Hebner said. "When he runs, it doesn't look like he's running fast, but he always gets to the ball."
Overall, Young finished with some eye-popping numbers during his stints in Montgomery and Durham. He hit .315 combined, while finishing with 26 doubles, seven triples, 26 home runs, 99 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases in 136 games.
Put together solidly at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Young has few flaws in his game between the lines. His strength allows him to drive pitches with power to all parts of the field, while his speed on the base paths is an added weapon.
Young is being pegged by some scouts, and publications, as a potential 40-home run threat annually throughout his big-league career, although Hebner believes he'll be in the 30-35 homer range.
On the downside, Young could use some additional patience and consistency at the plate, as witnessed by his 29 combined walks in nearly 600 plate appearances last year.
"Sometimes he'll look silly on one swing, but then he'll come back and hit a screaming liner," Hebner said.
His appearance in the major leagues is obviously inevitable, helped along by a guaranteed $5.8 million deal he signed after the 2003 draft.
Delmon's raw skills will make him an immediate impact player when he begins to carve out his major-league career, which will likely start in earnest in 2007 in a Tampa Bay outfield that includes center fielder Rocco Baldelli and left fielder Carl Crawford.
"He's cocky in a way, but if you're good you can be a little cocky," Hebner said. "He's confident in himself, and he can back that up. He's a special kid."
The question is: How long Tampa Bay will be able to tolerate his behavior before the baggage becomes too heavy? He remains at No. 2 in the MLN FAB50 rankings.
- Bob MATUSZAK
See also:
Devil Ray – MLN Sports Zone, April 27, 2006
The Blind and the Damned on Reality TV – MAJOR BLOGS May 1, 2006
The Devil Goes Down to Durham – MLN Sports Zone June 18, 2006
Potholes on the Road to Enlightenment – MLN Sports Zone - July 1, 2006
MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 (2)
MLN FAB50 Baseball 2004 (10)
