The Tampa Bay Rays most prized prospect might not be a prospect for long. Wil Myers could be patrolling right field in major league parks this summer and providing a significant contribution the Rays offense. Although the Rays have lead the MLB in runs over the last three weeks, that trend might not continue without an upgrade. That’s where the 22 year-old comes in to the picture, the one-two punch of Myers and Evan Longoria would give the Rays a formidable offense for this year and years to come.

William Bradford Myers was born in Thomasville, NC on Decemember 10, 1990 into an athletic family. His father was a marine and his mom was a 3 sport star in high school. It would make sense that Wil was athletic, but he was different. He hated being inside and picked up baseball from an early age. After the 8th grade, the Myers’ family had a decision to make. Wil could go to the public high school in their town of High Point or he could consider Wesleyan Christian Academy. Wesleyan’s coach, Scott Davis, told Myers that he would go D1 if he went to his school and he took Davis up on his offer.





Myers decision immediately paid off and he made the All-State team as a freshman. He was a star through his 4 years at Wesleyan and progressed greatly during his time there. He went from an awkward third baseman to a star in the field and also grew up off the field. He has described himself as cocky and immature during his first two years in high school and he struggled to be as a good of a teammate as he was a player. But as high school does to most of us, Wil grew up and became a leader. In 2008 his team won a state championship with their star P/C/1B hitting cleanup and boosting his draft stock immensely.

Myers committed to South Carolina during his junior year and planned to attend the SEC school. However, Myers was picked in the 3rd round of the 2009 amateur draft and decided to sign with the Kansas City Royals for a 2,000,000 dollar signing bonus. The kid who never knew any place besides North Carolina was suddenly a professional baseball player in the Midwest. But Myers adjusted about as well as you can, he hit .369 and had 5 HRs in his first professional season. As with many young players, like Bryce Harper, Myers had experience as a catcher but become an outfielder to focus on hitting and play a less strenuous position.

In 2010 Wil made the jump to High A and hit .346 in 58 games, very impressive for anyone, let alone a 19 year old. He was heralded as a top prospect in the Royals system but didn’t live up to the high expectations in 2011. Many critics felt that he couldn’t hit against tougher, more experienced pitchers and might never return to his terrific 2010. Boy, were they ever wrong. Myers catapulted to MLB.com’s 4th best prospect after being named the Player of the Year out of the entire minor league. He hit 37 homers and had 109 RBI in just 134 games and seemed destined to join Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Mike Moustakas, and Eric Hosmer in the Royals lineup after following a similar path. But 2012 wasn’t so great for everyone, the Royals finished 72-90 and decided to make major changes to their biggest weakness: the rotation.

Kansas City Royals’ Billy Butler and Alex Gordon

After adding Jeremy Guthrie in the middle of 2012, Kansas City brought in Ervin Santana early on in the off-season to bolster the rotation. But they weren’t done. The Royals broke from tradition and traded Wil Myers for a big time starter, James Shields. Jake Odorizzi was also part of the deal in exchange for the Rays’ pitcher Wade Davis. So Myers joined his new club and was immediately being talked about as a future clean up hitter and the guy who would come in and make pitchers fear the middle of the Rays’ order.

Longtime Ray, James Shields

Although Wil did play well in spring training (.286 BA, 4 XBH), Joe Maddon and the front office decided to start him off in AAA. So Myers was sent to Durham, NC to play just over an hour from where he grew up and remains there a month and a half into the season. He has hit .264/.359/.411 with 4 HR and 23 RBI in 34 games so far and should be called up by early July when the Super 2 deadline passes. The Rays are a team that is built around its’ pitching, but they had enough confidence in their young arms and liked Myers enough to break from that philosophy. After constant transition over the last 7 years of his life, Wil Myers has just one more move to make, and all of baseball will be watching when he finally becomes a Ray.