Last year, Desmond Jennings won the Rays Minor League Player of the Year honors. In Double and Triple-A in 2009, Desmond Jennings had a slash line of .305/.391/.457 while chucking in 11 homers. You might be thinking it was a slow year in the Rays organization. Yeah, the opposite is true here, friend. Jennings stole 52 bases. (His minor league ups and downs were broken down further in a Scouting the Unknown in June.) To recap, 11 homers and 52 steals. HAVE MY CHILDREN! Whoa, Mr. Caps Lock, get excited much? YES! Who are you, Desmond Jennings? Carl Crawford? They are both 6 ‘2″. They both play center field. Both have teen power and 50 steal base potential. Yes, I have thousands of pictures of Jennings ready to go up on my bedroom walls. So Jennings is a slam dunk for 2010 fantasy baseball, right?
The similarities are both his pluses and minuses. If Crawford is in left field and Upton is in center, does Jennings play short center? Few things can happen, Crawford gets moved so Jennings can do exactly the same thing in his stead. Jennings gets held back in the minors because there’s no room right now for him. Or the Rays go with the All-Drool outfield of Upton, Crawford and Jennings; I’m sure this is the option Rays pitchers want. Now things don’t always work out, remember I was caca-cuckoo for Cameron Maybin in the preseason last year. If Jennings gets the call to start in the beginning of the year, I’d own him in ten team mixed leagues. Shoot, I’m ready to take him in NL-Only leagues for s’s and g’s. If he gets the every day job, this won’t be the last you’ve heard of him. He’s exactly the kind of rookie that can have an immediate impact for 2010 fantasy baseball. Quick, somebody make Crawford glue, I have pictures to paste!
