But it didn't matter. Young was the consensus top pick, and the Rays would figure the logjam out when they needed to. Check out these quotes from the 2005 Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which featured Delmon on the cover:
An intimidating presence from the right side of the plate who elicits Albert Belle comparisons …
He's selective at the plate and has outstanding baseball instincts …
Young is a special hitter with more offensive upside than any of the organization's rising stars …
Those quotes came after Young's 2004 professional debut, in which he hit .322/.388/.538 in Low-A as an 18-year-old. He demolished Double-A as a 19-year-old, earning a promotion to Triple-A in 2005. After the season, Baseball Prospectus listed Orlando Cepeda, Sammy Sosa, Cesar Cedeno, and Hank Aaron as his comparable players. Other comparisons included Elijah Dukes and Jeff Francoeur, which is kind of like saying "The next Guns 'N' Roses album is going to be as good as either Appetite for Destruction or Chinese Democracy," but you get the idea.