This story was excerpted from Adam Berry¡¯s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. PETERSBURG --?Adrian Santana?had a feeling the Rays would pick him in the MLB Draft on Sunday night.

Well, not just a feeling.

¡°I had a dream about them a couple nights ago,¡± Santana said on a Zoom call with Tampa Bay media during Day 1 of the Draft.

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In that dream, Santana said, he was playing in a high school game and went to get something from his car. The only people around were Rays scouts. Speaking to his advisor, the 17-year-old Miami commit from Doral Academy (Fla.) said, ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think this is a coincidence.¡±

Maybe it was, but Santana¡¯s dream still proved to be prophetic on Sunday night. The Rays selected the switch-hitting shortstop with the 31st overall pick, their second pick in this year¡¯s Draft.

When Santana¡¯s name was called, he said, it was hard to hear anything else in his family¡¯s house. They were supposed to have a small gathering, but around 100 people -- family, friends, coaches and the like -- showed up.

¡°It was super exciting. It was so loud in the house,¡± Santana said. ¡°It was kind of crazy how loud I got.¡±

Rays scouting director?Chuck Ricci?said the Rays had been looking at Santana for ¡°a while.¡± (To be fair, even for a team that practices what it preaches about taking an open-minded approach to talent evaluation and acquisition, athletic switch-hitting shortstops are kind of Tampa Bay¡¯s type.) And after a workout at Tropicana Field late last month, Santana left a strong impression on evaluators.

That workout, Santana said, is what led him to believe he¡¯d be picked by the Rays. He had a great day from both sides of the plate and drove some balls out of the park. He just felt good, and the fit felt right.

¡°He's such a good kid. He's got so much energy, and he's such a special defender,¡± Ricci said. ¡°The profile, as he gets stronger, has the chance to be special. Switch-hitting, speed, elite defender at shortstop -- really a fun kid to be around.¡±

Asked to describe himself as a player, Santana set a pretty high bar.

¡°The next switch-hitting?Trea Turner,¡± Santana said. ¡°That's the best way to put it.¡±

Of course, Santana will have a long way to go after he starts his professional career. He only just began switch-hitting after his sophomore year of high school, so his left-handed swing is a little behind his right-handed swing. He says he already feels ¡°great¡± with it, but it¡¯ll take time, training and reps to get where he needs to be.

Santana hit 11 homers during his senior season, but he¡¯ll have to add strength to his 5-foot-11, 155-pound frame if he wants to improve his ability to make hard contact against professional pitching.

¡°I think that's going to be a big part of his development moving forward. And in talking to Adrian, I think he realizes that,¡± Ricci said. ¡°We sat down with him at the Combine. I think that's a part of his game that we're going to help them address, and I think once that comes, I think the bat's going to really come on.¡±

If nothing else, Santana will be a prospect to dream on.