Tampa sees Ray of hope in its latest No. 1 draft pick

	The Devil Rays hope to see David Price in the major leagues soon. AP
	SI.com's 2007 MLB Draft Coverage SMITH: Biggest draft day winners and losers Rays select Price with No. 1 pick | Draft Tracker BASEBALL PROSPECTUS: First-Round Mock Draft DONOVAN: Best homegrown talents in the game WEISMAN: Hitters can be tough to evaluate HEYMAN: Baseball fights Boras' grip on draft SMITH: Capsules for Top 20 overall prospects RISE.com: Top 20 high school prospects to watch DONOVAN: Draft evolving into big-time event GALLERY: The All-Draft Longshot Team

By all accounts the Devil Rays got a great pitcher when they picked left-hander David Price first in last week's amateur draft. Everyone seems to think they also got a person of great character, or as they say in baseball circles, "great makeup.''

Presumably, that means he won't be texting his estranged wife a picture of a gun, taking drugs or throwing a bat at an umpire. Those problems have afflicted three previous high draft choices of the Devil Rays.

"We think we've got a guy who's good in all areas,'' R.J. Harrison, Tampa Bay's scouting director, says. "Everything points in that direction. But only time will tell."

Unlike a few previous high draftees who have caused the Rays some headaches, Price is a college player, from Vanderbilt. That gave them three more years to observe him than most of their previous high picks, who were prep phenoms. And that's exactly what the Rays did. They saw how well Price worked with teammates and felt as comfortable as a team could feel.

"Most scouts are pretty good at judging talent,'' Harrison says. "But the thing that can make or break a ballplayer is how they're made and how they deal with stuff.'' Harrison notes that the team was impressed by how well Price dealt all season with the expectation of being the likely first choice.

According to one competitor, Price wasn't the most talented pitcher in the draft (that's probably Rick Porcello, a prep star), but he's the "closest thing to a sure thing to being a productive major leaguer.''

Rays GM Andrew Friedman says, "Obviously, talent is king. But no matter how talented a player is, without good to great makeup, it really becomes an impediment to him capitalizing on it.''

Which brings up Tampa Bay's scary recent history in the draft.

One of Friedman's main messages to outfielder Elijah Dukes (the one who texted the gun amid a bitter divorce) is to remind him that he should do what it takes not to waste "$50 to $70 million.'' Scouts on other teams agree that Dukes is that talented. But Dukes, only a third rounder (in 2003) because of early concerns about his temperament and troubled background (his father is imprisoned for murder and his mother has struggled with a cocaine problem), isn't the only high school draftee of the Rays who may wind up wasting his talent.

Josh Hamilton, like Price a former No. 1 pick overall (one spot ahead of Josh Beckett in 1999), got himself suspended multiple times for drugs and never played a game for Tampa Bay. "There's nobody in baseball who predicted that,'' says Harrison, and others concur with that assessment. Cincinnati made Hamilton a surprise selection in last winter's Rule V draft. Hamilton is finally putting his God-given talent to use in a big-league uniform, but not for the Rays.

Delmon Young, like Price and Hamilton a No. 1 pick overall (the Rays have the worst record a lot), caught a 50-game suspension for heaving a bat at an umpire in the minors last year. Young, drafted in '03, was on his best behavior after his promotion to the majors late in the season, but he has irritated some folks by running his mouth this year. Although, the hope is that Young's underwhelming start (.266 with seven homers and 35 RBIs) might humble him a bit.

Friedman says that Young is a very hard worker who even backs up bases, something many outfielders don't do. But Young, who was picked ahead of Rickie Weeks, a college star who's considered to have great makeup, still confounds people. To that Friedman says, "Delmon's a guy who's obviously very talented. But he's done and said some things that the organization hasn't been pleased with.'' Friedman adds that the Rays "remain optimistic'' that Young will get his act together. Unlike Dukes, Young is from an upper-middle-class family. His father is a Delta Airlines pilot, and by all accounts he had every early advantage, including the lessons of older brother Dmitri, a longtime big leaguer.

B.J. Upton, a high school phenom whom the Rays took second overall in 2002, was ticketed for DUI while in the minors, but that appears to have been an isolated incident. His bosses still perceive him as fine young man who made one mistake. "He's a tremendous guy,'' Friedman says

Dukes is liked personally within the Devil Rays organization. But there have to be continuing worries over his continuing temper problem. "Elijah's had the type of childhood that it's impossible for me to fathom,'' Friedman says. "At his core, he's a very good person.'' Judging by the encounter with his ex-wife, though, he needs help, but union influence prevents the team from forcing him into it. Stories have even begun to surface about the Rays shopping Dukes (Foxsports.com has mentioned the Nationals as one possible interested party.) But one GM who considered trading for Dukes says that ultimately "I don't think GMs or owners will be willing to take that gamble.''