*簽下一條新鮮左手，16歲的捷克國手Stepan Havlicek。 *隊史第一位捷克球員及歐洲球員。 *直球快，曲球會跑。在同年齡中控球不錯。 *延長春訓結束後，夏天開始要去澳洲的大聯盟學校打球囉。 ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays have signed 16-year-old left-handed pitcher Stepan Havlicek, a member of the Czech junior national team, to a free-agent Minor League contract. Havlicek was signed last week in Blansko, Czech Republic, by John Gilmore, the Rays' European and Australian scout. Gilmore worked closely with Jiri Vit, an associate scout for Tampa Bay in the Czech Republic. Havlicek is the first player signed by the Rays out of the Czech Republic, and is believed to be the first signed by Tampa Bay out of Europe. "Stepan has a loose, quick arm with good follow through," Gilmore said. "His fastball has run and his curveball depth. For a young player, he has great control and goes right after hitters." A student of Sport Grammar School in the city of Brno, the 6-foot-1, 160-pound Havlicek is a longtime member of the Czech cadets and junior national teams. His most recent competition was at the 2009 European Juniors Championships held in August in Bonn, Germany,where he tallied 13 strikeouts over 11 1/3 scoreless innings. Havlicek will likely attend a portion of the Rays' extended spring camp and play at Major League Baseball's Australia Academy this summer. "This is a great opportunity for me to play against talented players," Havlicek said at his signing day news conference in Blansko. "Everything will be new for me in the States, and it will definitely be a great experience." The signing is part of the Rays' expanded international scouting efforts in Asia, Australia and Europe. "Playing in the World Series has certainly made international players aware of the Rays," Gilmore said. "But our track record in player development is our most powerful selling point to young players around the world." --

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