Spring report No. 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Believe it or not, but the Tampa Bay Devil Rays might be worth watching this year.

They don't get much national respect - not that they've earned it by the way they've played for basically the last decade - but there are a bunch of talented Rays who should be on your fantasy radar. A few were on display in Tampa Bay's spring opener Friday, a 3-1 loss to the New York Yankees at Progress Energy Park.

Carl Crawford is slowly moving up the rotisserie ladder, a speed merchant who's just beginning to realize his power potential at age 25 and figures to be at least a top-10 pick on draft day. Crawford anchors arguably the league's most talented outfield along with Rocco Baldelli in center and Delmon Young in right.

Baldelli, also just 25, is often overlooked for a number of reasons - he missed all of 2005 and part of '06 in a string of bad luck that started with a freak flip-flop incident (don't ask), he's overshadowed by Crawford and, of course, he's a Devil Ray. But Rocco Ballgame is just entering his prime, and he proved last year he's basically back to full strength (.302/16/57 with 10 SBs in 92 games). He'd offer a lot of value as a late-round pick assuming he can stay healthy for a full season.

Young's best known for chucking his bat at an ump in a minor league game next year, but if the prognosticators are right it'll just be a post script on a possible Hall of Fame career. Young - the younger brother of former Detroit Tiger Dmitri Young - is one of the finest all-around talents to enter the game in recent memory and a front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year. In other words, the kid's got skills. It'll be just his first full season, so don't overpay, but if Young keeps his head in check and can learn some plate discipline (one walk in 126 at-bats, egads!), he'll make an impact.

Speaking of aggressive youngsters, Elijah Dukes is another phenomenal Rays outfield prospect. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Dukes, who played linebacker at Tampa's Hillsborough High (known for producing such talented headcases as Dwight Gooden, Gary Sheffield and Carl Everett) has had some problems with aggression and finding his inside voice in the past. The massive 22-year-old probably won't make too much of an impact this year - although he's got a good shot at making the team as a fourth outfielder in an effort to keep him under the watchful eye of the big-league club and get his head straight. Don't forget about him, especially in keeper leagues.

There's a lot of talent elsewhere on the roster too. We all know what ace Scott Kazmir is capable of (10 wins, 3.25 ERA, 125 Ks before the '06 All-Star break), and the shoulder inflammation that forced him to shut it down early last year hasn't been a problem this spring. B.J. Upton, not long ago considered one of baseball's top prospects, has fallen out of favor a bit because of defensive shortcomings but will start his first full season as a sort of uber-utility, Chone Figgins clone who will help at least in the steals department. 2B Jorge Cantu was held back by a broken foot last year, but if healthy he could replicate his stellar 2005 power numbers (28 HRs, 117 RBIs), which would hypothetically put him just behind Chase Utley at the position in terms of fantasy value. Japanese veteran 3B Akinori Iwamura, the team's only notable addition this season, provides a solid bat that could make him worth a late flyer. And waiting in the wings is 3B Evan (Don't Call Me Eva) Longoria, the Rays' top draft pick last year and the "best pure hitter" of that year's college prospects, according to Baseball America.

There's a lot of hypotheticals on this team, and of course they don't mean squat if they can't hobble together some semblance of a major league rotation or bullpen behind Kazmir. But the Rays have given themselves some flexibility and a pretty solid foundation to build on. And they can do the same for your team.

Some other observations:

- Andy Pettitte looked good in his first start of the spring and first game appearance since rejoining the Yankees: 20 pitches (15 strikes), two perfect innings. The Bombers are reportedly confident he's healthy (even though health concerns were supposedly the reason they let go of him in the first place), and I'm expecting the 34-year-old lefty to be rejuvenated by the move. He won't win an ERA title now that he's back in the AL, but with gas left in the tank and a dangerous offense backing him up, he's almost a lock to win 15 games.

- Spotted around the ballpark: Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, 1996 World Series hero Jim Leyritz, and Derek Jeter's parents, Charles and Dorothy.