YOUNG IS RESTLESS, READY FOR MAJORS FORMER CAMARILLO STAR RAPIDLY RISING THROUGH THE MINORS.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

Lou Piniella pulled aside the best young prospect in all of baseball last spring and delivered two messages.

The first was that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were sending Delmon Young to Double-A Montgomery, Ala. The move wasn't unexpected, considering Young, the top pick in the 2003 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, was just two years removed from Camarillo High School and a veteran of just one complete season in the minors.

Piniella's second message was clear and to the point: Spend the current season honing your game and report back next spring expecting to win a starting job in the Devil Rays' outfield.

Young didn't just work on his game, he nearly perfected it. The former Camarillo standout blasted his way out of Double-A in just half a season, with the only people more excited than Devil Rays fans about his recent promotion to Triple-A Durham being the pitchers he embarrassed in the Southern League.

At the time of his promotion to Durham, Young was leading the Southern League in hits (111), home runs (20), RBI (71) and slugging percentage (.582). He also ranked fourth in batting average (.336) and third in stolen bases with 25. All this at age 19.

He's cooled off a little at Triple-A, batting .284 with two home runs, three doubles, three triples and 13 RBI through his first 18 games, but he is still considered a can't-miss, future major-leaguer.

``I was in Double-A ball when Vladimir Guerrero was coming through and Delmon reminds me a lot of Vladimir at a similar age,'' said Montgomery manager Charlie Montoyo. ``There aren't too many guys who hit a ball so far you go, `Oh my God, did you just see that?' Or make a throw from the outfield and leave you going, `My God how did he do that?' (Guerrero) can do that, and so can Delmon.''

In a recent game, Young hit a home run, stole two bases, scored from second on an infield hit, threw out a runner at home plate from deep right field and made a diving, game-saving catch.

``There's not much else a guy can do in one game,'' said Montgomery play-by-play man Jim Tocco. ``Some guys can do one or two on occasion, but Delmon can do it all.''

The only person not impressed with Young is Young himself.

``I've never been one to look at numbers or think about stuff like that. The only numbers I worry about are wins and losses, that's always been my biggest priority,'' Young said. ``Maybe at some point after the season I'll take a look at those sort of things but right now I'm too busy trying to get my team into the playoffs.''

It wasn't like the Devil Rays were hoping their prized prospect would regress this year. But any baseball man worth his speed gun and stopwatch will tell you they never get a true read on a kid until he goes through a prolonged slump.

The long road to the major leagues is littered with plenty of can't-miss prospects who couldn't figure their way out of their own head after tasting adversity for the first time. But take a kid who can emerge from an 0-for-28 abyss in Single-A Charleston in the dead of summer and you just might be looking at a future All-Star.

The Devil Rays never got that read on Young in his first full season in pro ball last year. He followed up an impressive debut in Single-A by making a mockery of the Arizona Fall League. His numbers were so good the Devil Rays promoted him to Double-A to begin this year, hoping the dramatic jump up would bring him down to earth a little bit.

Or at least enough to get a sense on how he handles difficulty.

``You know guys are going to struggle a little bit,'' said Montoyo. ``I don't care who you are, it's a part of the game. It's just a matter of time. But that's OK, because you want to see how someone's gonna react.''

Montoyo and the Tampa Bay brass are still waiting.

Now that Young's playing well in Triple-A the question now is when will Young get the call to the big club?

``At this point we just want him to get his at-bats against a higher level of pitching and continue to do what he's doing,'' said Tampa Bay farm director Cam Bonifay. ``As far as a timetable for him getting promoted, that's something our general manager (Chuck LaMar) will make the call on. But right now we just want Delmon to continue doing what he's doing.''

Young says he's content at Triple-A, at least publicly. He learned the hard way the difference between confidence and arrogance when he told reporters he expected to be in the major leagues two years after being drafted.

``He's always been an honest kid and he answered the question that way,'' said his father, Larry Young.

The response was a little too haughty for the Devil Rays' front office, and it didn't exactly win Young many friends when he reported to instructional league that summer. Some players looked at Young and wondered who the bigheaded newcomer was.

Young didn't need a thermometer to gauge how chilly the reception was, and since then he has been more guarded with his comments. There was a time in Montgomery when he didn't talk to local reporters at all.

``In time I'm sure he'll open up more,' his father said. ``He's a smart, funny kid with a (dry) sense of humor. People will eventually see that.''

Delmon Young is the top-ranked prospect in the minor leagues according to Baseball America. He earned the honor by blazing a path through the Southern League.

In a league that's served as a gateway for future major-league stars Alex Rodriguez (Jacksonville), Dale Murphy (Savannah), Eddie Murray (Charlotte), Lou Whitaker (Montgomery) and Alan Trammell (Montgomery), Young was having one of the league's all-time great seasons this year.

Before his promotion to Durham, Young was competing for the league's triple crown. Only one player has done that in league history - Ashville's Michael Reinbach in 1972.

To put Young's season in perspective, current major-leaguer Miguel Cabrera batted .365 with 10 home runs and 59 RBI through 69 games in 2003 with Ashville, and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson hit .293 with 17 home runs in 1967 with Birmingham.

Young's running numbers might be the biggest surprise of all, if only because he was never known for his base-running prowess coming out of high school.

``I saw how people downgraded my running, but what they didn't realize is my high school team wasn't built for me to do that,'' Young said. ``But now that I'm playing 140 some odd games, I realize the importance of running.''

Young eventually turned the slight into a motivational tool, spending the last two offseasons re-working his body so he'd be better equipped to run the bases.

``I remember seeing him stick around after a long day (in fall league) doing extra wind sprints and working on his running,'' Montoyo said. ``That told me right there he was a guy willing to do whatever it took to improve his game. It's one thing to have talent, but it's another to continually work on it. Delmon clearly wants to get better.''

An improved Young is a daunting prospect for opposing pitchers, be it at Triple-A or those he'll eventually see in the big leagues. But it's something the Devil Rays are desperately counting on as they try to climb out of the shadow of ineptness that has plagued them during their first decade of existence.

The fact is, Young's success is directly related to the long-range hopes of a nine-year-old franchise that has struggled to win with any consistency.

If Young is all he appears to be, the Devil Rays' fortunes could improve. More importantly, they'll also have a young superstar to market as the face of the franchise.

It's a lot of pressure to put on the shoulders of a 19-year-old, but like Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr., a pair of former No. 1 overall picks for the Seattle Mariners in the 1990s, Young appears to be up to the challenge.

``Pressure is all relative,'' Rodriguez said. ``I've had pressure on me since I was 15. You learn to deal with it. I'm sure if (Young) is every bit as good as he's supposed to be, he'll do just fine.''

Like Rodriguez did when he got called up to the big leagues at age 18 in 1994, Young should have some help once he gets to Tampa.

The Devil Rays are cultivating an talent base in the minor leagues, and if it all comes together Young and Rodriguez could end up sharing more in common than just being first overall picks.

``In Seattle I came into a situation where we had three potential Hall of Famers in (Griffey, Randy Johnson and Edgar Martinez) and at the time we felt we were just about to turn the corner,'' Rodriguez said. ``And that's exactly what ended up happening.''

Besides Young, the Devil Rays are counting on Triple-A infielder B.J. Upton, Double-A outfielder Elijiah Dukes and Single-A pitchers Jeff Neiman and Wade Townsend.

They'll soon join highly regarded prospects such as pitcher Scott Kazmir and outfielder Carl Crawford, who are already with Tampa Bay.

``We feel like we have some really good players to build around, it's something we all talk about,'' Young said. ``Hopefully when we all get there the pitching comes around and we get this thing going in the right direction.''

Crawford and Young talk regularly, and the message Crawford conveys is obvious - Hurry up and get here, and when you do be ready to win.

If it was up to Young, he'd already be there. But that's a call the Tampa Bay front office has to make.

``Needless to say, we like what we're seeing,'' Bonifay said. ``And that's in every aspect.''

Vincent Bonsignore, [phone]

vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Former Camarillo standout Delmon Young was the No. 1 overall pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2003 Draft.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

(2) With a powerful arm, and an even more powerful bat, Delmon Young has risen rapidly through the Devil Rays' organization.

MLB Photos/Getty Images