The Delmon Young bat toss has been a big topic of conversation over the past day or two and some of the best discussions as it relates to his prospect status can be read in these two diaries posted at Minor League Ball :: Minor Leagues blog featuring John Sickels. (I am a big fan of the Wisdom of Crowds.)
My personal views are Delmon Young is currently an arrogant ass but is young enough to mature out of it and that he should be suspended 30 games and made to spend the entire season in AAA.
If he cannot handle this, and the Devil Rays should attend especially close to his behavior, then he should be traded for a major league pitcher very near arbitration (read: salary about to rise dramatically) and a stud pitching prospect. Of course, he should be dealt to the NL in the event his hype becomes justified and his AAA batting line is only a result of immaturity .329/.368./.392.
In the mean time, I expect Elijah Dukes to get to the majors before Young and provide one more roadblock to Young’s promotion. This also plays into my belief Young must be dealt.
Dukes has repeatedly said he is working on his plate discipline and recently told Baseball America he recognized he was rushing at the plate to begin this season and subsequently was able to slow down his approach and improve his plate discipline. His batting line is currently .316/.413/.595.
Dukes seems to know what he has to do and has the maturity to do it. Any past conflicts seem to be under control and as long as he produces, he will regain the slack all professional athletes possess, and to an extent, all of us do.
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