2011 MLB Draft: A Defining Day for the Tampa Bay Rays

Starting at 7:00 on the east coast tonight, the present will begin it's course as the future of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Why is that, you may ask? Because tonight may be the most important draft in the history of the young franchise. The selections they make this evening could turn out to make or break them in the long-run.

The Rays, whether by natural or compensation picks, have 10 out of the first 60 selections. They will also be choosing 12 of the first 89. With all those picks, The Rays are bound to get at least a couple of All-Stars, right?

Well, not necessarily. Teams that have had assortments of picks in the past haven't really come through in delivering stud major-leaguers.

We won't know for several years how this draft will turn out as a whole, but it is one that will define the Rays for seasons to come down the road.

The Rays will select 24th, 31st, 32nd, 38th, 41st, and 42nd. That's six times in just the first round and compensation round.

The Rays were showered with compensation picks galore this off-season, when many players were signed by other teams, causing the Rays to get picks from having Type A free-agents.

Not only did they get two picks out of Carl Crawford, and picks out of Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano, but they also were given top-60 picks from lesser-knowns like Randy Choate, Chad Qualls, and Brad Hawpe.

While the draft picks are great compensation value for those last three players, it means little if the picks never make it. The Rays would honestly be lucky if half of those first 10 picks made 'the Bigs'.

For the time being, optimism spreads in the air, with many questions as to who the Rays will pick first. The buzz around Jose' Fernandez (RHP, Alonso High, Tampa) staying in-town to eventually play for the Rays is a major possibility.

But one thing in the MLB draft is certain: There is plenty of uncertainty. The only thing predictable is that it will be anything but. That's why most mock drafts (even those just predicting the first round) are rather pointless.

But just to throw in a few names to listen for when the Rays choose their first few players, here are some guys to consider: Fernandez, Hawaii second-baseman Kolten Wong, Levi Michael from UNC, and Joe Ross out of Bishop O'Dowd High in California, among others.

It has been said many a time over the past few weeks that the draft class of this year may be the strongest one since 2005. That's when a mind-boggling amount of MLB future stars were selected, including the likes of Justin Upton, Ryan Braun, Ryan Zimmerman, Troy Tulowitzki, Clay Buchholz, Jay Bruce, etc.

So, in that case, this could very well be the highest draft of importance in the history of this organization. So Andrew Friedman, Stu Sternberg, the entire front office and scouting department, all wait nervously, yet excitingly for what could define the team for years to come.