Delmon Young
| Delmon Young | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays – No. 26 | |
| Right Fielder | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| debut | |
| August 29, 2006, for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays | |
| Career statistics (through October 2, 2007) | |
| Batting average | .293 |
| Home runs | 16 |
| Runs batted in | 103 |
| Teams | |
| |
Delmon Damarcus Young, (born September 14, 1985 in Montgomery, Alabama), the younger brother of Dmitri Young, is an outfielder on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and was, arguably, the top hitting prospect in baseball as of the end of the 2005 minor-league baseball season. In 84 games with Double-A Montgomery, Young hit .336 with 20 home runs, 71 runs batted in and an OPS of .986 in 2005, winning the Southern League MVP despite playing barely more than half the season. Young was promoted to Class AAA Durham on July 15, 2005, where he batted .285 with six home runs and 28 RBI in 52 games. After the season was over, Delmon was named Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year, not to mention, its #1 overall prospect for the 2006 season. Delmon finished his minor league career with an impressive .317 batting average.
When Young was made the first overall pick in the 2003 MLB draft, he and his brother became the first siblings to be picked within the top five choices (Dmitri was drafted fourth overall in 1991 by St. Louis). In 2005 however, their record as the top drafted siblings was broken when Justin Upton was drafted first overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks after B.J. Upton was taken second by the Devil Rays in 2003.
Young graduated from Adolfo Camarillo High School in 2003, located in Camarillo, CA.
2006 Season
On April 26, 2006, while playing for the Durham Bulls (AAA - Tampa Bay) in a game against the Pawtucket Red Sox, Young threw his bat at the umpire after being called out on strikes. He stared at the umpire for sometime and refused to leave the batter's box. He finally did, but then started to return to his dugout and the center field camera caught him throwing his bat underhand, end-over-end, toward the umpire. It him on his chest and arm but he was not hurt.[1]
The next day, Young issued an apology through his agent, claiming that he had not intended for the bat to actually strike the umpire, but acknowledging that it was unacceptable to have thrown the bat at all. The International League (AAA) initially suspended Young indefinitely, then announced on May 9, 2006 he would be suspended for 50 games, without pay, retroactive to the day of the incident. Young had the option to appeal the suspension, but chose not to do so. The suspension ended on June 19, 2006.[2]
This altercation was not the first he had had with an umpire during a game. In 2005, while playing for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay), Young received a three-game suspension for bumping an umpire.[3]
On August 28, 2006, the Devil Rays called Young up[4] after it was decided that Jonny Gomes had to undergo season-ending surgery. Thirty-one games remained of the 2006 Devil Rays season when he was promoted. His first game at the major league level was against the Chicago White Sox and occurred on August 29, 2006, ten years to the day after his older brother Dmitri played in his first major league game[5]. After striking out on his second at-bat, Young hit a 412-foot-two-run-home-run for his first major league hit[6].
2007 Season
On July 28th Young was leading all rookies with 54 RBIs, 5 more than Ryan Braun.
Scouting Report
Despite having little major league experience, Young has already received a reputation around baseball for his strong and accurate throwing arm in right field[7]. As of May 28th of the 2007 baseball season, Delmon already has seven outfield assists, five of which have resulted in double plays. Don Zimmer, now a consultant with the Rays, has compared Young's arm to that of Jesse Barfield or Raul Mondesi. Beyond his incredible arm in right, Young also takes excellent routes to balls, and his speed allows him to track down balls with relative ease.
In terms of hitting ability, at 6'3, 205 pounds, Delmon presents an intimidating and strong plate prescence, and his hitting ability has often been compared to that of Albert Belle[8][9][10]. He has a line drive swing with a slight uppercut that can produce long home runs and bullet line drives. His bat gets through the zone incredibly quickly, and he is expected to produce many .300 plus seasons[citation needed].
See also
Notes
- ^ Jonathan Mayo (2006-04-26). "Young hits ump with bat after ejection". Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ^ "Young suspended 50 games for bat toss". 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ^ Kevin Goldstein, Chris Klein, and Matt Meyers (2005-05-02). "Daily Dish". Retrieved 2007-06-23.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Marc Topkin (2006-08-28). "Delmon on the way". Retrieved 2007-06-23.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|publication=ignored (help) - ^ "Player File - Dmitri Young". Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ^ Doug Harrison. "Delmon Young Newsmaker". Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ^ Crasnick, Jerry (2007-06-20). "Identifying the elite arms in the game". Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ^ "Delmon Young - No. 2 of Baseball's Best Minor League Players". Retrieved 2007-06-23.
- ^ "Tampa Bay Devil Rays Top 10 Prospects". 2004-1-12. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Friday Chat with Matt Meyers". 2005-8-26. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)
External links
- MLN FAB50 Baseball 2005 - No. 2 - Minor League News