Delmon Young #21

Delmon Damarcus Young…2003 graduate of Adolfo Camarillo High School…His brother, Dmitri, played in the majors from 1996-2008; Dmitri was selected by STL with the 4th overall pick in the June 1991 draft, making him and Delmon the first pair of brothers to be taken within the first 5 selections of the MLB draft…Selected to Baseball America's First-Team High School All-America Team following his junior and senior seasons at Camarillo High School (CA)…Signed by Rich Aude.

2014

Spent his 1st season with the O's and made the Postseason for the 6th straight season with his 4th different club since 2009...Led the majors (min. 10 PA), batting .500 (10-20) as a PH, adding a .565 OBP and .800 SLG...Made O's debut, March 31 vs. BOS...Collected 1st O's hit, April 3 vs. BOS...Hit 1st O's HR, April 8 @NYY...His 10 pinch hits are T-6th for a single-season in club history (since 1974)...Batted .316/.345/.481 with 4 HR and 17 RBI in 47 games (139 PA) at OPACY...Had season-high 8-game hit streak, June 14-30 (.476; 10-for-21)...Tied his season-high with three hits for the 5th time, August 25 vs. TB...Reached base safely four times for the 16th time in his career and 2nd this season (also August 5 @TOR) on August 25 vs. TB...On August 26 vs. TB (A. Cobb & R. Hanigan), recorded his 1st stolen base since April 16, 2011 @TB...Tripled for the first time since September 1, 2012 vs. Chicago (AL) with a PH 3B, September 19 vs. BOS...Appeared in four postseason games (two starts), batting .222/.222/.333 with a double and four RBI...Delivered a three-run, pinch-hit double in the eighth inning of ALDS Game 2 to give the Orioles a 7-6 lead...Went 1-for-1 with an RBI single in ALCS Game 1.

2013

Played in 80 of the Phillies 119 games before his release...Began the season on the 15-day DL recovering from off-season right ankle surgery; activated on April 30...Homered in his first AB as a Phillie, April 30 @CLE...Had hits in 7 consecutive at-bats, two shy of the club record, June 26-28...Set a career high with 6 RBI, June 28 @LAD...Collected his 1,000th career hit, July 3 @PIT (single) and his 500th RBI, June 26 @SD (2-run HR)...Made 73 starts: 64 in RF and 9 as DH...Designated for assignment on August 9 and released on August 14...TB's #1 pick in the 2003 June Draft rejoined the Rays on September 1 after 6 seasons away with the Twins, Tigers and Phillies...In the Game 163 tiebreaker at Texas, recorded the go-ahead RBI with a sac fly in the 1st inning...According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the third player all-time to play in 3 different tiebreaking games or series, joining Dodgers outfielders Carl Furillo (1946, 1951, 1959) and Duke Snider (1951, 1959, 1962)...Hit a solo HR on September 6 at SEA (a 443-ft. shot), his first homer after returning to the Rays...Went 5 years, 348 days in between, passing Fred McGriff (2 years, 308 days) for the longest stretch between home runs in club history...September 27 @TOR, he hit his 100th career home run (2nd inning off R.A. Dickey).

2012

Named MVP of the ALCS vs NYY (.353, 6-17, 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI) ... Made 29 starts in LF for DET ... Was on the restricted list, 4/27-5/4, after being suspended for 7 days by MLB ... Compiled a season-best 10-game hitting streak, 7/4-18 (.341, 4 HR, 9 RBI) ... Homered in a career-best 4 straight games, 7/5-8 ... Batted .313 (30-96), 8 2B, 4 HR, 15 RBI in 25 August games ... Homered in back-to-back games twice: 8/26-28 and 9/1-2 ... Hit .308 (56-182) vs LHP ... Led the team in postseason RBI (9) & total bases (26) and tied for the team lead in hits (15) & HR (3).

2011

Began the season with the Minnesota Twins before he was acquired by the Tigers in a three-player deal on August 15, 2011 -- hit .268 (127x473) with 21 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 64 RBI in 124 games between the two clubs...Sidelined April 19-May 13 with a left oblique muscle strain...Batted .380 (27x71) over a 19-game stretch June 9-July 18...Sidelined June 26-July 11 with a right ankle sprain -- saw action in nine games with Triple A Rochester during an injury rehabilitation assignment July 4-10...Hit .321 (27x84) in 22 games during June...Equaled a career high with two home runs on August 3 at the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...Batted .324 (35x108) with three doubles, a triple, four home runs and 20 RBI over a 26-game stretch August 15- September 12...Collected a season-high four RBI on August 21 versus Cleveland...Hit .301 (40x133) versus lefthanded pitchers...batted .256 (87x340) with righties on the mound...Batted .278 (74x266) with 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 69 games following the all-star break...hit .256 (53x207) with two home runs and 20 RBI in 55 games prior to the all-star break...Belted three home runs during the American League Division Series versus the New York Yankees -- established the Tigers record for home runs hit during the American League Division Series...Connected for two home runs in Game Five of the American League Championship Series on October 13 versus Texas to match the Tigers single-game post-season record for home runs -- marked the fourth time in franchise history a Tigers player has hit two home runs during a post-season game...he joined Alan Trammell (Game Four of 1984 World Series), Kirk Gibson (Game Five of 1984 World Series) and Magglio Ordonez (Game Four of 2006 American League Championship Series) in accomplishing the feat...Finished with five home runs during the post-season to match the most home runs hit by a Tigers player during a single post-season -- Craig Monroe also belted five home runs for the Tigers in 2006.

2010

The 25 year-old played in his fifth season in the Majors and third with the Twins...was the Twins Opening Day left fielder, batting seventh, April 5 at Los Angeles (AL)...went 2-for-4 with two rbi and two runs scored, including the Twins first home run of the season (off Jered Weaver)...Hit a home run in his only at-bat, April 8 at Los Angeles (AL)...came in as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning...Had fourth career four-hit game, including a solo home run off David Huff, May 2 at Cleveland...Set a career-high with his 14th home run of the season, July 28 at Kansas City...Hit safely in 17 of 18 games, June 3-23...batted .484 (30-for-62) with six doubles, one triple, four home runs and 22 rbi in a 14 game span, July 17-31...had five three-rbi games during that stretch...Posted a 12-game hitting streak, batting .481 (25-for-52), July 21-August 2...Had fifth career four-hit game, including a two-run home run off Brian Matusz, July 24 at Baltimore...homered in consecutive games, July 24 and 25 at Baltimore (49th and 50th of his career)...had sixth career four-hit game, July 26 at Kansas City...Was tied for fourth in the Majors in rbi through games of July 31...his .335 batting average also ranked fourth in all of baseball at that time...was named Co-American League Player of the Month for July, along with Toronto's Jose Bautista...Batted .360 (103-for-286) with 27 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs and 72 rbi in 78 games combined between May, June and July...Tied his career-high with his 93rd rbi of the season, September 2 vs. Detroit...set career-high by driving in his 94th run as part of a four-rbi game (season-high), September 7 vs. Kansas City...Tied his career-high with his 38th double of the season, September 6 vs. Kansas City...set a new career-high with his 39th and 40th double, September 7 vs. Kansas City...became the 16th different Twin with 40-or-more doubles in a season...Drove in his 100th rbi, September 15 at Chicago (AL)...marked the 32nd time a Twins player drove in 100-plus runs in a season...Hit his 44th double of the season, moving into a tie for seventh with Matt Lawton (2000) on the Twins' All-Time single season doubles list, September 27 at Kansas City...Hit his 45th double of the season, tying him with Torii Hunter (2007), Chuck Knoblauch (1994), Kirby Puckett (1989) and Zoilo Versalles (1965) for third on the Twins' All-Time single season doubles list, September 28 at Kansas City...Hit his 20th home run, becoming one of five Twins in club history to hit at least 20 homers, collect at least 40 doubles and drive in over 100 runs in a season, September 29 at Kansas City...the others being Justin Morneau (2008), Torii Hunter (2007), Michael Cuddyer (2006) and Kirby Puckett (1988)...Hit his 46th double of the season, tying Marty Cordova (1996) for second on the Twins' All-Time doubles list, October 2 vs. Toronto...drove in his 112th run of the season in that same game, tying him with Kirby Puckett (1994) for 12th on the Twins' All-Time single season rbi list...Was one of three players in club history to hit over .295, collect 150-plus hits, 45-plus doubles, 20-plus home runs and 100-plus rbi...the others being Justin Morneau (2008) and Marty Cordova (1996)...Posted a career-high .984 fielding percentage (four errors, 255 total chances)...his 12 outfield assists were the most in baseball for a left fielder...Recorded 48 multi-hit games, including 17 games with three-or-more hits and three four-hit games...Led the Twins with 112 rbi which tied Kirby Puckett (1994) for 12th on the Twins' All-TIme single season rbi list...Finished in 10th-place in American League MVP voting with 44 total points, including one fourth-place vote...Was one of eight players in baseball with 20-plus homers, 40-plus doubles, 100-plus rbi and a .290-plus batting average...Cano, Holliday, Braun, Beltre, Longoria, Cabrera and Hamilton being the others...Recipient of the Charles O. Johnson Award for Most Improved Twin, voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA.

2009

Hit first home run of season, April 12 at Chicago (AL)...hit safely in 10 of 12 games, April 10-27...recorded three, three-hit games in an 11-game span, with the first coming April 25 at Cleveland...second three-hit game, May 2 vs. Kansas City...third three-hit game, May 7 at Baltimore...hit safely in seven consecutive games, batting .370 (10-for-27) with four runs scored and four RBI, June 3-12...homered in consecutive games, August 9 at Detroit and August 11 vs. Kansas City...hit five home runs and collected 11 RBI in a 10-game span, August 9-20...third career four-hit game, going 4-for-5 with the game-winning, walk-off RBI in the ninth inning, August 25 vs. Baltimore...hit first career grand slam (off Lenny DiNardo) and tied career-high with five RBI, October 2 vs. Kansas City...second career two-homer game, October 4 vs. Kansas City...named American League Co-Player of the Week along with teammate Jason Kubel, September 28-October 4, after hitting safely in all seven of his games played, compiling five straight multi-hit games, batting .448 (13-for-29) with three home runs, 10 RBI and six runs scored...batted .386 (27-for-70) with four doubles, one triple, four home runs, 12 runs scored, 17 RBI and 10 multi-hit games in his final 17 games (Twins went 13-4)...season-high nine-game hitting streak, September 27-October 6, to finish the season.

2008

Hit safely in nine of 11 games, April 5-17...was 10-for-27 (.370) in seven games, April 22-29...had first career two stolen base game, April 29 vs. Chicago (AL)...hit safely in six consecutive games, going 10-for-23 (.435), May 16-21...tripled in three consecutive games, May 18-20...was 8-for-18 (.444) in four games, May 30-June 2...went 3-for-4 with a career-high three doubles, June 2 vs. New York (AL)...hit first homer as a Twin, snapping a streak of 258 at-bats without a home run, June 7 at Chicago (AL)...had back-to-back three-hit games, June 13 and 14 at Milwaukee...hit safely in 11 of 13 games from June 20-July 6, going 18-for-47 (.383) with two home runs and nine rbi during that span...went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, a home run and four rbi, July 4 vs. Cleveland...second career four-hit game, July 18 vs. Texas...hit .330 (32-for-97) with two home runs, six doubles, 15 rbi and 14 runs scored in 24 July games...homered in back-to-back games, August 12 and 13...hit .333 (21-for-63) from September 2-20 (17 games)...hit safely in 17 of 19 games from September 2-24, including a season-high eight-game hit-streak from September 15-24, with three three-hit games during the streak...hit. 341 (29-for-85) in 23 September games...finished third in the American League in three-hit games, behind Dustin Pedroia and Ichiro Suzuki...hit .300 (70-for-233) with seven home runs, 33 runs scored and 33 rbi in 64 games after the All-Star break...finished tied for fifth (Suzuki) in the American League in outfield assists with 11.

2007

Finished 2nd in the BBWAA Rookie of the Year voting ... compiled 56 points in the 5-3-1 points system ... only one Ray as ever finished with more points in the Rookie of the Year balloting - RHP Rolando Arrojo received 61 points in 1998 when he finished 2nd to Ben Grieve ... Led all American League rookies in seven categories: games (162), hits (186), RBI (93), total bases (263), batting average with runners in scoring position (.349), multi-hit games (55) and outfield assists (16) ... Was the 7th rookie to play in every one of his team's games since 1961, first since New York's Hideki Matsui in 2003 ... the others: Dick Allen (1964-PHI), Bobby Knoop (1964-LAA), Johnny Ray (1982-PIT), George Scott (1966-BOS) and Jeff Conine (1993-FLA) ... also just the second Ray to play in 162 games joining Aubrey Huff (2003) ... has played in 192 of a possible 193 games in his brief career, including the last 165 ... Only 11 rookies (6 AL) in the last 50 years have had as many hits ... Is one of only eight major league rookies (5 AL) in the last 50 years to exceed 180 hits and 90 RBI ... joins Orlando Cepeda (1958-SF), Dick Allen (1964-PHI), Tony Oliva (1964-MIN), Nomar Garciaparra (1997-BOS), Albert Pujols (2001-STL), Carlos Beltran (1999-KC) and Rich Rollins (1962-MIN) ... since World War II only 6 other players have reached those landmarks in one season by age 22 ... Since World War II, only five players have reached 180 hits and 90 RBI's at his age or younger ... Only 3 major league rookies in the last 50 years have exceeded Delmon¹s totals in hits (186), RBI (93) and doubles (38): Tony Oliva (Min, 1964), Nomar Garciaparra (Bos, 1997) and Albert Pujols (STL, 2001) ... His 16 outfield assists tied for fifth among all major league outfielders in 2007 and were nine more than any other major league rookie ... only 6 ML rookie outfielders in the last 50 years have had more assists ... His 645 at-bats ranked 10th all-time among AL rookies (most since Ichiro with Seattle in 2001, 692) and set a Rays record for any player breaking Carl Crawford's mark of 644 in 2005 ... Batted a club record.349 (61-175) with runners in scoring position, 10th best in the American League in 2007 and tops among all major league rookies ... since 1974, only 5 American League rookies (min 100 ABs) have finished the season with a higher average with runners in scoring position and only two (Ichiro, SEA, 2001, 51) and Fred Lynn (BOS, 1975, 56) had more hits with runners in scoring position ... Had four hitting streaks of 11 or more games: a 12-game streak to start the season, a 13-game and two 11-game streaks ... had a total of 5 hitting streaks of 10+ games as a rookie (including a 12-game streak in 2006), tying Ichio's total in 2001 for most by a rookie in the last 50 years. Had eight hits with the bases loaded ... since 1974 only five AL rookies have had more ... Started 155 games in the outfield, 127 in RF ... started 28 games in CF when Rocco Baldelli was injured and Elijah Dukes was placed on the temporary inactive list ... Had 99 hits on the road ... in the last 50 years, only nine rookies have had more. Took 1,484 swings ... in the last 20 years, only one player has swung at more pitches in one season: Alfonso Soriano with New York in 2002 (1,519) ... Delmon took only 37.8% of the pitches he saw, lowest pct in the majors in 2007 and the third lowest in the last 20 years ahead of only Mike Marshall with the Dodgers in 1988 (37.3%) and Ivan Rodriguez with Texas in 1995 (37.4%) ... also swung at the first pitch 51.8% of the time, highest in the majors in 2007 ... In the Rays 3-game series vs. Texas at Disney's Wide World of Sports, May 15-17, he went 6-for-12 with 4 runs scored and 8 RBI ... in the final game of the series, he became just the third player all-time to have a multi-homer game including a "walk-off" home run before his 22nd birthday ... joined Cleveland's Buddy Bell in 1973 and Texas' Ruben Sierra in 1987 ... Delmon's two-run homer in the 10th off Willie Eyre gave the Rays an 8-6 win ... hit a 3-run homer earlier in the game off Kameron Loe giving him 5 RBI, tying the Rays rookie record ... was hitting .222 entering that series; batted .306 (154-504) the rest of the way ... Batted .324 (24-74) in interleague play including .385 (15-39) in NL ports ... his 24 interleague hits have been bettered by only 8 rookies in 11 years of interleague play ... During the Rays best stretch of the season, a 13-4 run between Aug 24 and Sep 10, he batted .378 (24-78) with 4 doubles, 3 homers and 17 RBI ... Since making his major league debut on Aug 29, 2006 he has 226 hits, 6th most in the AL during that span behind Ichiro-285; Magglio Ordonez-254; Derek Jeter-251; Michael Young-245; and Robinson Cano-226 ... his 122 road hits since then are 4th ... He has hit safely in 74 of 95 road games during his career and has a .314 (122-388) career average on the road.

2006

Recalled from AAA Durham on August 29 when Jonny Gomes was placed in the DL and joined the team in Chicago for his first major league action...Had 31 hits in his first 20 major league games...only six players in the last 50 years matched or exceeded that total in their first 20 games...Finished with 40 hits in 30 games...Only 11 players in the last 50 years had more hits in their first 30 major league games (see chart)...Had 14 multi-hit games in 30 starts...Still retains his rookie status...A player who doesn't exceed 130 at-bats or 45 days on the active roster before September 1 is considered a rookie...Delmon finished with 126 at-bats...Made his major league debut the day of his recall against 17-game winner Freddy Garcia and the White Sox...Homered in his 3rd plate app off Garcia who had hit him with a pitch in his first at-bat...Became the 2nd Ray ever to homer in his major league debut (also Brent Abernathy, 2001)...The first overall selection in the June 2003 draft, he became just the 2nd top pick to homer in his first game joining Bob Horner who did it with Atlanta in 1978...Later added a single...also homered in his first minor league game for Charleston (A) in 2004 and his first game with Double-A Montgomery in 2005...Followed the next night with an RBI single, sac-fly and a double off Chicago's 18-game winner Jon Garland....game three saw him collect 4 hits and was robbed of a 5th on a diving play by Sox 2B Tadahito Iguchi...Young was the first player since Arizona's Chad Tracy in 2004 to record a 4-hit game within his first 3 games in the majors...Became the first player since Willie McCovey in 1959 to get eight hits in his first three games...At 20 years, 11 months, 15 days, Delmon was the exact same age as Carl Crawford when he debuted in 2002...Only 3 Rays have debuted at a younger age: B.J. Upton (19 yrs, 11 mos), Chad Gaudin (20 yrs, 5 mos) and Scott Kazmir (20 yrs, 7 mos)...Was the 2nd youngest player in the majors in 2006, youngest position player...Only Seattle's RHP Felix Hernandez was younger...Young is also the 2nd youngest Ray to homer in a game behind BJ Upton who homered as a 19-year-old in 2004...After call-up, started 30 of the remaining 31 games and was the team's leading hitter the rest of the season (.317, 40-126) and the AL's top hitting rookie over that span...His 40 hits were 10th in the AL during that period and 9 more than any other AL rookie...Also had 4 outfield assists, 2nd among AL outfielders over the last 5 weeks of the season behind LAA's Juan Rivera (5)...In his Tropicana Field debut Sep 1 vs. Seattle, he nailed Ichiro at third base as the six-time All-Star attempted to go from first to third on a single...It was the first time in his major league career that Ichiro was thrown out from right field trying to go from first to third...The following night, he added his second home run, a 386-foot blast off Joel Pineiro and became the first American Leaguer in five years to record a home run for his first hit at home and on the road (Tom Wilson, Oakland, 2001)...Compiled a 12-game hitting streak, Sep 5-18, the Rays longest of the season and the 2nd longest by a rookie in club history (Rocco Baldelli, 13 games in 2003)...Only one AL rookie had a longer streak in 2006: LAA's Howie Kendrick (16 games)...streak began Sep 5 vs. Minnesota as the Rays were held to two hits over 8 innings by 19-game winner and AL ERA champion Johan Santana and Delmon got both of them...Batted a team-high .316 in 86 games at Durham...Was suspended for 50 days by International League President Randy Mobley for throwing his bat at an umpire in a game at Pawtucket on April 26...Returned to the Bulls on June 19... Was hitting .338 at the time he was suspended... During his suspension, Young completed 50 hours of community service including work with the Miracle League of St. Petersburg, the Rays Wheelchair softball team, the Sheriff's Youth Ranch of Manatee County and the Ronald McDonald House...Also performed community service in Durham...Was one of only two 20-year-olds in the IL...finished 13 plate appearances shy of qualifying with the 2nd best batting average in the IL...hit safely in 11 straight and 18 of his first 20 games to start the season...was also 22-for-26 in stolen bases...In three minor league seasons, averaged 150 hits, 25 doubles, 20 home runs, 91 RBI and 25 stolen bases per season...Tabbed as the Rays' top prospect by Baseball America as well as having the organization's best outfield arm and the club's top hitter for average...Named the publication's #1 prospect entering the 2006 season.

2005

Named the organization's 2005 Player of the Year for the second straight season ...is the only Rays farmhand to ever win the honor twice...Combined at Triple-A Durham and Double-A Montgomery to hit .315 with 26 doubles, 7 triples, 26 HR, 99 RBI and 32 stolen bases...his 176 hits were the fourth most in the minors as were his 294 total bases (tied), both tops among Rays minor leaguers...Was one of just four minor leaguers to hit 25 home runs and steal 25 bases...No other minor leaguer reached his figures in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases...Named the 2005 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year joining Rocco Baldelli (2002) as the only Rays to receive the award...Also awarded the J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps Minor League Player of the Year...At just 19-years-old, he was the youngest player in the International League and the youngest player to win the Baseball America POY award since Braves outfielder Andruw Jones won in back-to-back years in 1995-96...He batted .285 (65-for-228) with 13 doubles, 6 home runs and 28 RBI in 59 games at Durham hitting safely in his first 13 games at the Triple-A level, tying his career high hit streak...Anchored a triple play Aug 3 against Norfolk (Mets)...Young snared a sinking line drive and gunned down a runner out at the plate; Durham catcher Tim Laker then threw on to first to double-up the runner there...was the first triple play for the Bulls since joining the Triple-A ranks in 1998...Named Southern League Most Valuable Player despite being promoted to Durham on July 15... hit .336 (111-330) with a franchise-record 20 home runs and 71 RBI with the Biscuits and garnered a spot on the Southern League's mid- and postseason All-Star teams...he fell eight at-bats shy of qualifying as the SL batting champ...At the time of his call-up, he led the Southern League in home runs, hits (111) and RBI (71) while ranking fourth with a .336 average and tied for third with 25 stolen bases...Was awarded the league's player of the month honors in both May and June becoming the first player to win the award twice in the same year since Oakland's Eric Chavez in 1998...Young hit a combined .363 (78-215) with 11-2B, 15-HR and 52-RBI for both months...Hit a game-tying 2-run home run in the 7th inning on Opening Day against Mississippi (Braves) in his Double-A debut...has homered on opening day in each of his first two seasons...Belted his first career grand slam June 19 at Jacksonville (LAD)...also hit a solo HR in the 7th...was one of three multi-homer games on the year...GOING LONG: Connected for two tape-measure home runs in 2005...On April 23, he became the first and only Biscuit to clear the batter's eye in centerfield at Montgomery's Riverwalk Stadium...though no official distance is kept, it is believed to be the longest home run ever hit by a Biscuit...Delmon also became the first player to clear the batter's eye at TrustMark Park on May 30...only 54 HR were hit at the home of the Mississippi Braves, in 2005, the fewest at any SL park...Collected 341 hits in 264 games in his first two professional seasons (2004-05), only Angels farmhand Erick Aybar had more base knocks (351) among minor leaguers over the span...Was tabbed by Baseball America's Best Tools survey as being the Southern League's Best Batting Prospect and the Most Exciting Player as well as having the Best Power and Best Outfield Arm...The publication also named him the Southern League, International League and Rays organization top prospect...Represented Team USA at the All-Star Future's Game in Detroit for the second straight year...Played the entire game in right field and went 1-for-2 with a walk.

2004

Named the organization's Player of the Year in 2004 after leading the South Atlantic League with 116 RBI and 165 hits while his 25 home runs were 6th, all setting Rays organization records for a first-year player...His 116 RBI were the most in that league since 1997...Also led the Rays organization and set a new Charleston single-season record...It is the second-highest RBI total ever for a Tampa Bay minor leaguer behind Steve Cox's 127 in 1999...Drove in 103 runs in the final four months. » His 165 hits were the most since Carl Crawford's 170 in 2000...His .322 average was 5th highest...Was one of just 6 players in minor league baseball to reach the 20/20 club and the only player in the minors to post 25 home runs and steal 20 or more bases...Named Baseball America's top prospect as well as garnering a position on their Minor League All-Star team along with B.J. Upton...Was also named BA's Class A (low) player of the year...Also named the South Atlantic League's Most Outstanding Major League Prospect, marking the second straight year a Rays farmhand received the honor (B.J. Upton)...Homered in his first regular season game April 8 against Greensboro (Marlins)...Started slowly drawing one walk and striking out 19 times in his first 84 at-bats...Rebounded to reach base safely via hit or walk in 55 of the 59 games in the second half of the season...The SALLY League All-Star was named the Topps SAL August Player of the Month and was also awarded the SAL Batter of the Week for two consecutive weeks August 6-12 and 13-19, the only RiverDog to win the award...He joined former RiverDog B.J. Upton as a representative of Team USA at the 2004 All-Star Future's Game in Houston...He was 0-for-1...Was also named the top prospect in the 2004 Arizona Fall League, despite being the only teenager in the league.

2003

Was the first player selected in the June 2003 Amateur draft and signed a five-year major league contract with the Rays on Sept. 9...Went to Instructional League then made his pro debut in the Arizona Fall League one month after his 18th birthday and batted .417 (20-48) with 5 doubles, a triple and a home run...Began the AFL season on the "taxi squad" meaning he could play in only 2 games a week...Began season with 13 hits in his first 28 at-bats...Was moved off the "taxi squad" mid-season...Would have led the AFL in batting but lacked enough plate appearances...Helped Mesa Solar Sox to the AFL Championship...Named the 2nd best prospect in the Arizona Fall League behind teammate B.J. Upton...also ranked as the 2nd-best prospect in the organization by Baseball America, behind Upton...Had an impressive workout at Tropicana Field prior to the draft on May 11...The Rays hosted Delmon's brother's team, the Detroit Tigers later that day.