Odorizzi feels right at home in Rays' camp

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Jake Odorizzi, who is ranked as the Rays' No. 3 prospect by MLB.com, threw his first bullpen session under the watchful eyes of his new team on Thursday. On Friday, the right-hander sounded pleased with where he is at early in Spring Training.

"[The first bullpen session] is always the toughest," said Odorizzi, who was acquired from the Royals in the James Shields trade. "It went really well yesterday. I was happy with the entire bullpen [session] and it was better than previous years' first [bullpen sessions]. It was a good way to start."

Odorizzi, 22, noted that he's learned to not try and over-do it at the beginning of Spring Training trying to make an impression.

"This is my fourth or fifth [Spring Training]," Odorizzi said. "When I was younger, I'd try and do my best to show off on the first day, but it's all about the long run. ... Work on location early. Work on fastball-changeup. As spring progresses, you start focusing on your breaking stuff. That's usually how I go at it. It was the first step of a long road yesterday."

Tampa Bay is the third organization Odorizzi has been with in his professional career. The Brewers selected him out of Highland High School in New Douglas, Ill., in the first round (32nd overall pick) of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. Milwaukee traded him to Kansas City in 2010 as part of the Zack Greinke deal.

Odorizzi said he already feels at home with his new teammates.

"This adjustment was probably a lot easier than when I went to Kansas City, because I knew what to expect," Odorizzi said. "When you're traded, you've got to go around and meet everybody, and the sooner you do that, the sooner you get settled in. I was here in January, so I got to meet a lot of the guys who really helped me get settled in."