The 2011 MLB Draft was supposed to be a way for the Tampa Bay Rays to replenish a farm system that graduated a ton of talent to make a contender. Instead, the Rays still haven’t been able to recover.
No team can win without drafting well. The Kansas City Royals core is built around former high draft picks in Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. The Chicago Cubs would not be where they are if they didn’t draft guys like Kris Bryant and Javier Baez. The Orioles would look very different if they hadn’t drafted Manny Machado.
The Tampa Bay Rays were built into a contender through a ton of losing and drafting well. They were able to draft players like Carl Crawford, Melvin Upton Jr. (the artist formerly known as B.J.), Evan Longoria and David Price. Combining that with some shrewd trades and cheap bullpen pickups led them to the 2008 AL Pennant and perpetual contender within in the AL East fighting big payroll teams like the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.
The Rays would win the AL East again two years later but would lose in the ALDS.
After that, it was time to pay the piper and Rays do not have the capital to spend big money on free agents.
The Rays would see Crawford first go to their division rival Boston Red Sox. Closer Rafael Soriano would sign with the New York Yankees. They also lost Grant Balfour, Brad Hawpe, Joaquin Benoit, Carlos Pena, Upton, Randy Choate and Chad Qualls in free agency.
Because of this, the Rays would have a whopping 10 picks between picks 24 & 60. With the Rays track record in drafting and developing it would be a draft that could make the team dominant for years to come. Instead, it became something that the team is still reeling from.
Let’s take a look at each pick. Within each pick, we are going to look at who was drafted in between their selections as well. The Rays picks are in bold
Next: The first pick