Ranaudo dominating the Cape

LSU’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.