Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Ranaudo dominating the Cape
Posted by Alex PediciniLSU's Anthony Ranaudo was the 39th overall pick by Boston this past June. The big right-hander was one of the top projected draft prospects before the Spring but an inconsistent and injury plagued season hurt his stock tremendously.
Ranaudo is being advised by Scott Boras and as such, is seeking a well over slot bonus. Ranaudo, as many other prospects do, came to the Cape as a draft-and-follow prospect, meaning the team that chose him (Boston) will continue to monitor his progress throughout the summer. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein was in-person to watch him pitch a couple weeks ago and Boston has scouts at every game he throws.
Ranaudo has showed te type of stuff his in four Cape League starts that made him such a promising prospect a year ago. He has thrown 23.2 scoreless innings while striking out 22 and walking seven. He has allowed only seven base hits. In his last start, Ranaudo was sitting at 93 mph and touched 95 on several ocassions. He is also working to improve his change-up. His pitch counts are being closely monitored, especially with his injury history.
His dominating performance will likely boost his signing demands. Reports are that he will sign for top-10 money. Boston is not afraid to pay large bonuses to draft picks and his summer league performances have been extremely impressive. Still, I expect his negotiations will last untill the final hour but I do think his deal will get done.
Alex is a student in Boston. He welcomes all questions and comments here
I say him pitch against Bourne a few weeks ago, and Bourne actually hit him pretty good with some hard shots, but most were hit right at players. His fastball is extremely straight, and he looks like a releiver in the majors. Theo was there scouting.
I, for one, would not over pay him. He reminded me of Hanson, who was a total bust.