Price dazzles in professional debut
Price, the prized prospect in the Tampa Bay organization, weathered a 95-minute rain delay Thursday night and was dazzling in his professional debut for Class A Advanced Vero Beach in a 2-0 win over Clearwater at Holman Stadium.
"It's good to get out there because there was so much anticipation up to this point," Price said after throwing five shutout innings of three-hit ball and earning the win. "It's finally over."
After going nearly a year without pitching in an official game, Price was prepared to take the mound and lead the Devil Rays (23-24) against the Threshers (19-28) in at what was once Dodgertown.
While the game featured a pair of teams with losing records and mired deep in the standings -- the Threshers are in last place in the Florida State League West Division -- fans arrived early in anticipation of watching the highly touted Price, one of a handful of hurlers chosen with the first overall pick in the history of the First-Year Player Draft.
But after weeks of brutal heat, drought conditions and wildfires in the three counties surrounding Vero Beach, heavy rain began to fall in the area in the late afternoon.
The game was slated to start at 7 p.m. ET, but a steady drizzle kept the tarps on the infield. Following a lengthy delay, Price fired his first pitch, a 94-mph fastball, to leadoff hitter Quintin Berry at 8:35 p.m.
"Patience is definitely a virtue. My parents taught me that when I was real young," said Price, who passed the time by playing cards and watching his alma mater, Vanderbilt University, play LSU in the SEC tournament. "I just kind of hung out for a year and had some bumps in the road, but it's all good now."
Price, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound left-hander, was the No. 1 pick in the 2007 Draft. But the last year had not been kind to Baseball America's 2007 College Player of the Year.
Price pitched in two Major League games during Spring Training, tossing a pair of scoreless innings and retiring all but one of the seven batters he faced. However, the 22-year-old Nashville native suffered an elbow strain near the end of camp, and the organization took great caution in treating the injury. He also had some shoulder stiffness at the beginning of Spring Training.
Price worked last Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla., during an extended Spring Training game, striking out 10 in five innings. He allowed a home run to Alex Rodriguez, who was rehabbing a pulled quadriceps. The Yankees third baseman, who fanned twice against Price, was complimentary of the young left-hander, saying, "I wish he was on our team."
"I definitely felt better Saturday than I did today," said Price, who fanned Berry to record his first out, then fired a 98-mph fastball to start a 4-6-3 double play two batters later that ended the first inning.
"My fastball command [wasn't as good]. My slider felt good, but there was no pain, no soreness. So that's definitely a positive. I had little nagging injuries that just took a little time to heal."
Throwing 73 pitches, 49 for strikes, Price (1-0) fanned four, three of them looking, and walked one. He faced 17 batters, two over the minimum.
Price said he grew up a baseball fan, watching the Atlanta Braves on TBS with his parents.
"Every night, we watched them religiously," Price said.
He also acknowledged the significance of Holman Stadium, where the Dodgers trained for 61 years.
What did pitching in the legendary facility mean to him?
"Sandy Koufax made his first start out here," Price said. "There's a ton of history here. It's fun and a good experience. It's a good feeling."
Price was the second straight pitcher taken with the top pick. Right-hander Luke Hochevar was drafted by the Dodgers with the 40th pick in 2005, but he refused to sign, opting to re-enter the Draft. The former University of Tennessee standout was chosen No. 1 overall by the Royals the following year, and he is 3-3 with a 4.29 ERA in six starts for Kansas City this season.
Bill Whitehead is a contributor to MLB.com.