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IL1 Durham Bulls

Evan Longoria Named as No. One in MLN FAB50 Baseball 2007 Rankings

August 2, 2007 - International League (IL1)
Durham Bulls News Release


BOCA RATON, FLA - 08.02.07 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays prospect and third baseman Evan Longoria, who debuts with the Triple-A Durham Bulls today, was named as the No.1 player in the nation by Minor League News (MLN) in their fourth annual MLN FAB50 Baseball 2007 mid-season talent and movement rankings . The FAB50 editorial board takes the complete package of talent, depth chart, farm system politics, and major league openings into account when choosing the 50 most talented players on the fast track to the majors in a mid-year snapshot.

This year's FAB50 is even bigger and better, with 17" wide, screen filling photos, and enhanced player honor pages with feature stories written by some of the best veteran journalists covering the minor league beat.

This is the second time in the four years of the MLN FAB50 Baseball rankings that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have had a no. 1 pick. BJ Upton was a No.1 in 2004. The Devil Rays have always had a top two player in all four years of the MLN FAB50. Delmon Young was ranked No. 2 in both 2005 and 2006.

While the 2007 MLN Farm of the Year award went to the Los Angeles Angels, the D-Rays dominated the companion MLN Ones2Watch list of players a bit farther back on the development track

Longoria's blend of exceptional talent, and ability to advance make him the hottest prospect in the minor leagues of professional baseball, according to the editorial board of Minor League News (MLN) in its annual mid-season rankings appearing in MLN Sports Zone ( www.mlnsportszone.com ), the oldest continuously-publishing all-sports news magazine dedicated to the minors and independent pro sports.

RHP Andy Sonnanstine was ranked 12th overall in the MLN FAB50 Baseball 2007 rankings as the third best prospect in the Southern League and the 7th top pitcher overall.

LHP draft pick David Price, Shortsop Reid Brignac of the Class-AA Montgomery Biscuits, Jeremy Hellickson of the Columbus Catfish, and Wade Davis of the Vero Beach Dodgers made the MLN Ones2Watch Baseball 2007 list of 25 players not quite as prime-time ready, but who are worthy of keeping an eye on for future movement. This year, more than a dozen of the Ones2Watch picks continued to shine well enough to make it to the ranks of the FAB50.

The Los Angeles Angels were named as the top farm system in MLN's Farm System of the Year honors, calculated by the number of fast-track players with the ability to move up that each major league club has. The Devil Rays had a large total

This is the fourth year of the baseball edition of the MLN FAB50, which was started in 2004 as a replacement for the MLN Sports Zone's Player of the Year.

"MLN Sports is pleased to announce that Evan Longoria is the top prospect in the nation," said MLN Sports Zone senior editor Brian Ross. "Our staff works hard throughout the year to canvas farm directors, scouts, veteran beat writers, general managers, managers, coaches and others in a exhaustive search for players who have the real potential to go to the major leagues. It is not always about talent, but the ability for that talent to have the means to show itself off. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays continue to harvest some of the top prospects in baseball. We look forward to their club becoming a powerful contender for ALCS honors in the near future with the players whom we've honored over the last four years."

Rocco Baldelli was also a D-Rays honoree, under the Player of the Year format that MLN used until 2003.

The FAB50 is run mid-season to get a snapshot of the player with an established track record, in relationship to all of the other players from the major league level on down to the Rookies in each club. Their progress is compared to where they were when they were evaluated for the MLN Spring Training Report, which is the bookend of the process that comes out each spring. MLN publishes a FAB50 for professional minor league hockey each February as well.

Founded in 2000, Minor League News (MLN), the only independent four-sport publisher of sports news focused on minor and independent professional sports clubs watched by more than 93 million people across North America, has lead the way in building a new face for sports at this level with bold photos and great writing to cover our corner of the sports world.

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