/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/ROSZFXLQGZBGTCJOILF4AYQFNM.jpg "Paul Wilder was the Rays' first Round 1 pick in 1996, but never made it to the majors.")
The Rays have now participated in 25 drafts. Here is a look at their top picks in each one, with MLB stats and baseball-reference.com career WAR (Wins Above Replacement) where applicable:
OF Paul Wilder (1996): 29th pick; didn’t reach majors
RHP Jason Standridge (1997): 31st pick; 3-9, 5.50; -0.7 WAR
1B Josh Pressley (1998): 132nd pick; didn’t reach majors
OF Josh Hamilton (1999): 1st pick; .290, 200 HRs; 28.3 WAR
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/FGSRYFDLHVAY7BPTWTRNMAQ3VY.JPG "The Devil Rays' No. 1 draft pick, Rocco Baldelli, prepares to bunt during one of his first batting practices.")
OF Rocco Baldelli (2000): 6th pick; .278, 60 HRs; 10.2 WAR
RHP Dewon Brazelton (2001): 3rd pick; 8-25, 6.38; -3.1 WAR
SS B.J. Upton (2002): 2nd pick;.243, 164 HRs; 16.5 WAR
OF Delmon Young (2003): 1st pick; .283. 109 HRs; 2.4 WAR
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/UKC3HX5JKVE33OVU4RBTYHUGIQ.JPG "Manager Lou Piniella welcomes first-round draft pick Jeff Niemann to the Trop in 2004.")
RHP Jeff Niemann (2004): 4th pick, 40-26, 4.08; 4.2 WAR
RHP Wade Townsend (2005): 8th pick; didn’t reach majors
3B Evan Longoria (2006): 3rd pick; .267, 297 HRs; 56.0 WAR
LHP David Price (2007): 1st pick; 150-80, 3.31; 39.7 WAR
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/EUDJFKHDPFEVFGTRJA7FP2FBJ4.JPG "Shortstop Tim Beckham talks with the media at Tropicana Field in 2008 after being selected by the Rays first overall in the draft.")
SS Tim Beckham (2008): 1st pick; .249, 63 HRs; 3.5
2B Levon Washington (2009): 30th pick; didn’t sign
RF Josh Sale (2010): 17th pick; didn’t reach majors
RHP Taylor Guerrieri (2011): 24th pick; 0-0, 5.50; 0.2 WAR
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/EAVE2ROOPVDA5FCMS62WGEFWRY.JPG "Tampa Bay Rays first-round draft pick Richie Shaffer talks with the media in 2012.")
3B Richie Shaffer (2012): 25th pick; .213, 5 HRs; 0.0 WAR
C Nick Ciuffo (2013): 21st pick; .186, 1 HR; -0.3 WAR
1B Casey Gillaspie (2014): 20th pick; didn’t reach majors
OF Garrett Whitley (2015): 13th pick; played at Class A
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/EU6APNMVHBHQVCJIJTLBQYDECI.JPG "Tampa Bay Rays top draft pick Josh Lowe on the field before the start of 2016 game at the Trop.")
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/OHWN3LXREVAXTK7ISU7VPPUBM4.jpg "Want more than just the box score?")
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Explore all your options3B Josh Lowe (2016): 13th pick; played at Double-A
1B/LHP Brendan McKay (2017): 4th pick; 2-4, 5.14; -0.1 WAR
LHP Matt Liberatore (2018): 16th pick; traded from Class A
SS Greg Jones (2019): 22nd pick; played at Class A
RHP Nick Bitsko (2020): 24th pick; expected to sign
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