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Roger Mooney

Roger Mooney covers the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune, TBO.com and News Channel 8. He has covered the Rays since their first season in 1998, including 11 years for the Bradenton Herald. Roger has also covered Florida, South Florida and Florida State football, the Bucs and the Lightning.

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More on Rays’ draft-pick signings

Posted Aug 17, 2010 by Tribune Sports

Updated Aug 17, 2010 at 12:11 PM

Here’s the Rays’ press release today announcing the signings of top draft pick Josh Sale and third selection Drew Vettleson before Monday night’s midnight deadline:

ST. PETERSBURG —The Tampa Bay Rays have agreed to terms with outfielder Josh Sale, their first selection in the 2010 June Draft (No. 17 overall), and outfielder Drew Vettleson, their third selection who was chosen in the supplemental portion of the first round (No. 42 overall).  With the Tuesday night deadline to sign 2010 June Draft selections now past, the Rays signed their first six selections, eight of their first nine, 17 of their first 19, and 35 of 53 overall.

“It was a long arduous process, but in the end we’re happy to have two players that we have liked very much for a couple of years now join our organization,” said Rays Scouting Director R.J. Harrison.  “We look forward to getting them into Rays gear and getting them started in professional baseball.”

Sale (pronounced sah-LAY), 18, hit .520 his senior season at Bishop Blanchet (Wash.) High School with five home runs, six doubles, 20 RBI and 27 walks.  The left-handed hitter was rated by Baseball America as the best high school power hitter, the top corner outfielder, the No. 10 overall prospect, No. 5 position player and top high school outfield prospect in the draft.  Sale was also rated the top player in the draft out of the state of Washington and was the highest-drafted player from the state since Tim Lincecum (No. 10, San Francisco Giants) and Travis Snider (No. 14, Toronto Blue Jays) in 2006.

Sale was the sixth high school outfielder drafted in the first round in Rays history, following Paul Wilder (1996, No. 29 overall), Josh Hamilton (1999, No. 1 overall), Rocco Baldelli (2000, No. 6 overall), Delmon Young (2003, No. 1 overall) and LeVon Washington (2009, No. 30 overall).

Vettleson, 19, is ambidextrous and bats left-handed.  The Central Kitsap (Wash.) High School graduate was rated by Baseball America as the best pure hitter among high schoolers in the draft, the second-best prospect in the state of Washington behind Sale, and the No. 6 corner outfield prospect in the draft.  He hit .490 (25-for-51) as a senior with seven home runs, 29 RBI, four doubles and four triples.  Vettleson hit 22 home runs in his high school career.  As a switch-pitcher his junior year, he went 4-2 with a 1.60 ERA and threw two no-hitters.