Tampa Bay Rays Tickets

A team rich with young talented players the Devil Rays will have to be patient for yet another year. Their top picks are starting to come of age but are still a year or two away from making a considerable impact. Carl Crawford, 23, has already made his great leap forward, becoming an electric and effective player as well as the face of the franchise. The Devil Rays' pitching success will depend heavily on Brazelton, 24, a right-hander who will be the Opening Day starter, and Kazmir, 21, a lefty for whom the Mets were pilloried all winter for trading. Brazelton possesses a mid-90s fastball and a hard changeup that mimics a splitter. Kazmir, who rocketed from Class A to the majors last year, is a raw, two-pitch pitcher like Brazelton. Tampa Bay still has a long way to go, but its strategy of loading up on high school draftees is starting to pay dividends.