Jeff Ames thriving in the world of baseball among friends and relatives

The Tampa Bay Rays organization just may have a future ace on their hands in current P-Ray pitcher Jeff Ames. The 42nd overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft has a tremendous upside with a mid-90s fastball, slider, and changeup as his weapons. The scary thing with Ames is that he is just beginning to learn how to maximize his pitches into getting outs.

"I have a lot of great coaches here in Princeton and I am trying to soak it all up and continue to improve my game. Marty "Doggy" DeMerritt has so much knowledge of the game it's great to have him as my pitching coach. I am working on getting my stuff down in the zone consistently. I need to continue to focus on executing my pitches in different situations of the game," admitted Ames.

If Ames ever needs some advice on pitching other than from "Doggy," he sure doesn't have to go far. Jeff's brother, Steve Ames, is currently a pitcher in the Dodgers' organization at Double-A Chattanooga. Steve was drafted in the 17th round in 2009 by Los Angeles.

"We keep in touch and he's always there for me to bounce things off of. It's really nice to have a brother that is going through some of the same things I am," claimed Ames.

Ames also has several familiar faces on his current team in Princeton. He, along with Josh Sale (17th Overall '10), Ryan Brett, and Drew Vettleson (42nd Overall '10), all call the "Evergreen State" of Washington as home.

"I had met all of these guys before through the Mariner Cup or a summer league team and were pretty close so it's cool that we're all with the Rays now," revealed Ames.

Although Jeff has had some tough outings on the mound so far, he knows that he can put it all together. On July 20 he went five no-hit innings in a matinee starting appearance versus the Johnson City Cardinals.

"I felt good that day and I was keeping the ball down which was the key to the performance," said Ames.

Ames knows that he still has a long way to go and a lot to learn before reaching the majors, but is looking forward to putting the work in to improve his craft. "I'm excited to be a part of a great organization like the Tampa Bay Rays and I look forward to continuing to put in the effort and hard work to get achieve my goals," stated Ames.

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