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Post by brnichols19873 on Jul 15, 2015 16:48:08 GMT -5
I did a little digging on on Roniel Roudez (Spanish papers have it with a "z" not s) due to his dominant performance thus far in the DSL (as one of leagues youngest pitchers at 17 he is in the top 3 in k's, whip and BB/9) and came to really believe this kid could be the steal of the '14 signing period.
-Most impressive may be this kids genetics as his grandfather and Uncle were arguably the two most dominant pitchers in the history of Nicaraguan baseball (outside of mlb stalwharts D Martinez and V Padilla) His grandfather Diego Raudez, was known nationally as, "The King of Punch," due to his ability to get strikeouts. To this end, during his career in the national league, Diego was consistently among the leaders in strikeouts, including the 1983 season when he struck out a record 220; that season also saw him set the single game record of 20 (both still stand). For his Career, Diego ranks among the leaders in nearly every category; He is seventh all-time in wins (120), second in games pitched (417), third in shutouts (30), fourth in strikeouts (1,121), fourth in complete games (97) fourth in innings pitched (1,829) and seventh in saves (30). Sadly, Diego passed in 2005 at the young age of 54 and here is the final line from his farewell story in the national newspaper..."Beyond his numbers he will always be remembered for his will, courage and dedication to the game. He never feared hitters, He was a challenging pitcher until death hit one of his pitches."
(Unfortunately for Diego he was born just prior to the first wave of matriculation of players from Nicaragua to the MLB and thus never received a shot at playing professionally in the US, as he was born just 5 years prior to famed pitcher Dennis Martinez who was the first MLB player from the country (Ironically all of the Raudez clan hail from the same smallish port city of Granada that also produced Martinez). Obviously its impossible to say whether or not Diego would have been talented enough to garner interest or have success in the minors/majors but don't take the fact that he never signed with an organization to be a slight on his talent as political/economic strife within the country for decades limited any real ability players had to leave the country.)
-Roniel's Uncle Julio Cesar Pavon Raudez may have surpassed the accomplishments of his Father by putting together a remarkable career of his own. He was signed by the Giants in 1999 at the age of 23 and went on to perform admirably in 5 full minor league seasons topping out at AAA and posting a career 3.90 era, 7.7 k/9, 1.9 bb/9 in 552 total innings pitched. Upon being let go in 2006, Julio pitched in professional leagues in Panama and Puerto Rico for two seasons before returning to the newly reestablished Nicaraguan league in 2008. In sum, he has went on to pitch parts of 20+ seasons in pro ball continuing through 2015 at the age of 39; this past season he overtook the Nicaraguan career wins lead sitting at 169 as of July 2015. He is also in the top 5 in virtually every other significant category overtaking his father in every one except strikeouts.
-The resemblance of Roniel to his Grandfather Diego is strikingvin nearly every way from physical profile to appearnce down to throwing motion/delivery....here are some pictures of each:
(Black and white are Diego and Color are Roniel)
-Some may view the relatively small 250k bonus given to Raudes as a signal that he was a lower level talent however, when you compare his bonus to that of all other Nicaraguan pitchers in recent history it becomes apparent that he was easily the highest valued to come out of the country in quite some time. Consider the fact that in the last 6 international signing periods (2009 - 2014; since accurate data of bonus numbers prior to '09 for Nicaraguan players is seemingly unavailable, '09 is used as the starting point) just 4 Nicaraguan pitching prospects have signed for a bonus of 100k or more and as the list clearly shows Raudez' 250k bonus was significantly more than those handed out previously...
Roniel Raudez $250,000 - 2014 Jhosmer Cortez $125,000 - 2014 Corby Mccoy $150,000 - 2012 Ronald Medrano $100,000 - 2012
-Also keep in mind just how poor Nicaragua is in relation to other places...Comparing the most recent GDP per capita figures of Nicaragua with those of other nations/territories that produce high amounts of international talent, its apparent just how far behind their economy truly lags.
Venezuela $17,900 Puerto Rico $16,300 Dominican Republic $12,800 Nicaragua $4,800
Their GDP per capita ranges from 2.6x to 3.7x that of Nicaragua which in all honesty I found really surprising. (from cia factbook www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html ) With all that said, it would appear that a 250k bonus would be much more impactful their than in these other places.
-Yet another factor possibly allowing the Red Sox to secure a player with a bonus below his apparent value if in a totally free market is the integral relationship that the team has fostered with a Niguarian native named rafael mendoza a key player in the country's national team and development program. For starters he serves as a bench coach for the senior team while also being the general manager of one of the country's few development teams/programs. All this is in addition to being hired as the Red Sox full time scout in Nicaragua in 2012 (prior to this they had no full timer in the country). It was a very shrewd move to garner and foster a relationship with such a native and we'll connect ed individual as I can't imagine many other teams, maybe not any, have a full time scout whose so ingrained in the baseball of the country. And most importantly it appears that it may hav paid off with Mendoza playing a key role in locking this kid down!!
-Extremely excited about this kids upside as he may be another young pitching gem to watch!!!
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alnipper
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Living the dream
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Post by alnipper on Jul 16, 2015 9:14:01 GMT -5
I never knew just how poor Nicaragua is. Great information!
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Post by vermontsox1 on Jul 16, 2015 9:20:24 GMT -5
Definitely having a great year so far, but I would caution optimism until he makes his way state-side and his scouting report is updated. When he signed Ben Badler described him as a guy with an "athletic build" who had "advanced pitchability and breaking stuff for his age." He sported a "mid-80s fastball up to 87 mph" but can throw strikes and possesses a "good curveball he can use to get swing-and-miss." www.baseballamerica.com/international/2014-international-reviews-boston-red-sox/
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danr
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Post by danr on Jul 16, 2015 11:53:58 GMT -5
Raudez has 43 Ks and 2 (yes, only 2) BBs in 39 innings.
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Post by telson13 on Jul 16, 2015 12:42:17 GMT -5
Definitely having a great year so far, but I would caution optimism until he makes his way state-side and his scouting report is updated. When he signed Ben Badler described him as a guy with an "athletic build" who had "advanced pitchability and breaking stuff for his age." He sported a "mid-80s fastball up to 87 mph" but can throw strikes and possesses a "good curveball he can use to get swing-and-miss." www.baseballamerica.com/international/2014-international-reviews-boston-red-sox/This is a great point. Especially re: the advanced pitchability and breaking stuff. That's the sort of skillset (see McGrath) that dominates the low minors despite middling FB stuff. That said, Espinoza was only 88-92 at 16, so Raudes seeing a FB velocity increase into the low-90s isn't a stretch at all.
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Post by brnichols19873 on Jul 17, 2015 13:31:48 GMT -5
Definitely having a great year so far, but I would caution optimism until he makes his way state-side and his scouting report is updated. When he signed Ben Badler described him as a guy with an "athletic build" who had "advanced pitchability and breaking stuff for his age." He sported a "mid-80s fastball up to 87 mph" but can throw strikes and possesses a "good curveball he can use to get swing-and-miss." www.baseballamerica.com/international/2014-international-reviews-boston-red-sox/This is a great point. Especially re: the advanced pitchability and breaking stuff. That's the sort of skillset (see McGrath) that dominates the low minors despite middling FB stuff. That said, Espinoza was only 88-92 at 16, so Raudes seeing a FB velocity increase into the low-90s isn't a stretch at all. I agree completely on not to going over the top with optimism until stateside scouts get a look, however I will pass along this scouting report from a Nicaraguan newspaper in which quotes local scouts as saying he was up to 90 before coming over, "Raudez is described by scouts as a shooter athletic body, fluid movements and a good throwing mechanics. His fastball biting ninety miles per hour and also features an obedient curve and a changeup. Despite his age, he has a good idea of launching and dominates all pitches." Obviously take it with a grain of salt but there is a chance his velocity has increased since Badler's scouts saw him, remember a lot of these kids are scouted and locked up a year or so prior to actually signing and with a birth date of Jan 1998 this means he was 16.5 years old when signed which more than likely means he was last scouted by US teams as a 15 year old. With this in mind, I don't think I can overstate how much physical progression takes place from 15 to 17 for most young athletes. I also will add that although I hate to blindly accept the competency of any professional front office executives, the resounding amount of success the Sox have had when it comes to evaluating and signing international prospects since Eddie Romero replaced Craig Shipley as director of international scouting allows me to be confident that this kid has a good deal of talent. -And clearly the early results are extremely impressive; despite being the 3rd youngest qualified pitcher in the the league:(Per fangraphs dsl leaderboard www.fangraphs.com/minorleaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=30&qual=y&type=0&season=2015&team=0&players=0 ) Raudez is flat out dominating. After yesterday's start, he has thrown 44.1 innings and Beyond his absurd K/BB ratio of 53 to 2 he is also second in the league with a 2.11 FIP which also happens to lead the entire Sox minor leagues...
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Post by ctfisher on Jul 20, 2015 13:44:13 GMT -5
What exactly is an "obedient" curveball?
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Post by brnichols19873 on Jul 20, 2015 14:15:31 GMT -5
What exactly is an "obedient" curveball? The scouting report is taken from a Spanish newspaper "La Presna" or "The Press" which is the most prominent paper in Nicaragua and thus is a Spanish to English translation...
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Post by pedroelgrande on Jul 20, 2015 18:44:35 GMT -5
The original says "una curva obediente" which literally translates to "an obedient curve ball." I don't think it is meant as a type of pitch more like he can locate the pitch.
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Post by brnichols19873 on Aug 5, 2015 14:54:14 GMT -5
Raudes was just promoted to the GCL per this LA Prezna article www.laprensa.com.ni/2015/08/04/deportes/1877994-roniel-y-blandino-subenwhich states that his fb velo is up to 92-93, "Today (yesterday) morning I called the office manager and was told to pack my bags because I was going to the United States. I was very happy to meet the first goal in my career," Raudes said, who has seen his fastball speed of 92 and up to 93 miles per hour, but considers it essential in its development has been how to think how to dominate every hitter in the game.
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Post by sibbysisti on Aug 5, 2015 16:55:04 GMT -5
What exactly is an "obedient" curveball? One that does what he's told to do!
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Post by brnichols19873 on Oct 15, 2015 17:36:26 GMT -5
Here is an update on Raudes` progression heading into the off-season. I cant help but think that this kid is being vastly underrated by the SP staff and minor league scouting community as a whole given his makeup, stuff, and stats over the past season. To put it bluntly it seems absurd that Logan Allen is all the way up at #13 in the most recent update while Raudes barely made the list at #58? Despite Raudes being a year younger yet having better track record and seemingly similar stuff?
>Raudes was credited with leading the GCl rsx to a championship game win in early September...From sept 2 mlb.com article entitled, "Red Sox win second straight GCL Title: 17 year old Raudes stars on mound," "That ended up being enough offense for the 17-year-old Raudes, who was pitching in his first professional playoff game since signing for $250,000 in 2014. The right-hander from Nicaragua allowed more than one baserunner in an inning only once in his five frames, In the one inning -- the fourth -- when the Blue Jays did get multiple baserunners on against Raudes, Oliveras eliminated the threat with a diving play that started a rally-killing double play. Raudes finished with a GCL-high seven strikeouts while allowing five hits and a walk. Like phenom Anderson Espinoza, Raudes got the bump stateside as a 17-year-old after starting the year in the Domincan Summer League, and he thrived in his time in the GCL, posting a 0.90 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with 16 strikeouts in 20 innings during the regular season.
>After the game GCL Sox manager Tom Kotchman compared Raudes to Venezuelan all star Francisco Rodriguez, "We know what we're getting with him," Kotchman said. "He's a fearless strike-thrower who tops out at 92 right now, but he's only gonna get faster. He reminds me of a young K-Rod [Francisco Rodriguez] in that he's skinny with a loose arm and an average-to-plus curveball. >In addition, Kotchman included Raudes in a group of 3 elite young pitchers that could reach the majors and be impactful at a very young age...“Having an Espinoza, having a Logan Allen, having a Raudes that’s coming up the Boston pipeline, if they stay healthy and follow a normal progression, you’re looking at guys who are 21, 22, 23 years old at the latest,”
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steveofbradenton
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Watching Spring Training, the FCL, and the Florida State League
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Post by steveofbradenton on Oct 15, 2015 17:39:22 GMT -5
He was very impressive the one game I saw him in Sarasota. Threw is secondary stuff a lot. He had a lot of confidence in his curve and change-up. He will be exciting to watch this upcoming year. Lowell?
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Post by brnichols19873 on Oct 15, 2015 17:44:19 GMT -5
He was very impressive the one game I saw him in Sarasota. Threw is secondary stuff a lot. He had a lot of confidence in his curve and change-up. He will be exciting to watch this upcoming year. Lowell? Any specifics you can remember, stat line? velocity?
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Post by beany24 on Oct 15, 2015 20:44:38 GMT -5
I saw him throw one inning this past Saturday against the Twins kids. His FB topped out at 91 and his slurve with tight spin was around 82. Nice compact, loose, athletic motion with good balance after delivery. Like Espinoza, if he can command a changeup down in the zone he can be really good. He's very wiry but with his good mechanics he might be able to pick up a little more velocity. This kid knows what he's doing and looks confident. At least Dombrowski and Wren got a quick look at him. Between him, Espinoza, and Kopech, the Sox have hit the jackpot for potential with these three.
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Post by telson13 on Oct 15, 2015 21:46:39 GMT -5
Raudes definitely has the look of a 2016 breakout candidate. He was pitching (and *dominating*) in the GCL at an age where most US pitchers are still waiting to start their senior years in HS. Even good pitching prospects out of HS struggle at 18-19 in the GCL, and Raudes pitched quite well. It's quite common for HS juniors to add at least 2-3 mph from their jr to sr years. And the fact that he added substantial velocity from the time of his signing (4-5 mph), coupled with his wiry build, suggests to me that he's going to get stronger and add a few more ticks. If he goes from averaging 90-91 and touching 93 to averaging 93 and touching 96, that's a plus fastball, particularly given his apparent excellent control and good command. Combine that with a CB that he has good command of and flashes plus, a developing change, and the knowledge of how to set hitters up, and that's a premium pitching prospect: one who is likely to start in Lowell at the least, or possibly get a late Greenville assignment after XST...at 18. He may not have Espinoza's blazing FB, but his is solid, and he is the prototypical build for gaining velocity with maturity. I'm excited to see him develop.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Oct 16, 2015 5:03:05 GMT -5
Scouting report from Instructs coming today.
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Post by tonyc on Oct 16, 2015 13:59:30 GMT -5
My feelings exactly Telson, hopefully he's not the outlier no weight gainer like the guy we traded for Schilling. Seems he may have the highest ceiling in our system after Espinoza and Kopech. Of course it's under the assumption that the velocity uptick will occur, enabling his pitchability to shine at advanced levels. Logan Allen appears more almost like Brian Johnson, high floor. All this, of course subject to great variability given their ages.
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Post by pdangle on Oct 24, 2015 0:22:09 GMT -5
Search on vids with z as last name from OP:
Some questions to the forum: How extraordinary is a 63-3 K/BB ratio in the DSL? Seems so outlandish, it's comical. Obviously if the threw 3mph faster than the 87-93 quoted, he would be big news these parts. At 17 might have some velocity left to improve.
What did his MLB pedigree/relatives throw at?
What u think of this kid overall? Seems way under the radar.
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Post by brnichols19873 on Apr 14, 2016 19:15:14 GMT -5
Just watched Raudes’ first start on milb archive and came away extremly impressed with both the kids talent as well as his poise. The latter would pay off big at the outset as he gave up a leadoff bunt single to open the game on his first pitch, however he responded remarkebly well as he was able too pick off the runner (the first of his career).
Had 5 K’s
-(2nd) Fastball down and away lefty w/t away run
-(3rd) fastball middle away from a righty
-(4th) curve righty low center of the plate
-(4th) Fastball inside lefty with run
-(5th) Fastball away righty (hard to see action because view is from announcers box camera behind plate) max george who doubled previous ab, set it up with inside tailing fastball.
-Counted 12 total swing and misses which broke down from my view as; 8 fastballs, 2 curves, and 2 changeups. Also broke a bat in the fourth on what appeared to be a change.
Kid appears to have at least 1 average to plus offeing and possibly two beyond the curve which was as nasty as advertised...
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Post by brnichols19873 on Apr 14, 2016 19:43:34 GMT -5
Also I recently found some historical data which shows that his participation in the sally league as an 18 year old puts him in rarified air as just 8 pitchers 18 or younger accomplished the feat of qualifing in the league over the past 10 seasons...as you will note 7 of the eight eventually went on to become top 50 prospects...
Year Player Highest prospect ranking 2006 Deolis Guerra 35 2006 Brandon Erbe 27 2008 Madison Bumgarner 3 2008 Jairo Heredia N/A 2009 Manny Banuelos 13 2009 Jordan Lyles 42 2009 Martin Perez 15 2013 Luis Heredia 42
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Post by telson13 on Apr 14, 2016 20:11:25 GMT -5
He definitely hasn't gotten the hype he could. His start in full-season is really impressive, because he is so young and does have (in all liklihood) at least a couple mph to add to the fastball, one would think. He's reasonably tall and pretty lanky, and FB velocity usually peaks in the early 20s. Clearly, his command and poise are quite advanced, or he wouldn't be sniffing full-season ball at an age when a lot of IFA signees are hoping just to get out of the DSL and into the GCL. We've discussed him enough that he's really not a "deep" sleeper anymore, but he is most certainly a prospect who could break out big, and is probably quite underrated in the grand scheme of things. I love his upside, given the terrific command and plus curve at a remarkably young age. "Pitching" is an acquired skill and usually comes a lot later.
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Post by ramireja on Apr 16, 2016 0:12:44 GMT -5
Lower WHIP in Greenville by June 1.....Raudes or Espinoza?
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Post by telson13 on Apr 16, 2016 1:39:35 GMT -5
Lower WHIP in Greenville by June 1.....Raudes or Espinoza? I'm going with Espinoza, although I wouldn't be surprised if they were both under 1. I'm calling it 0.89 to 0.94, EA over RR. I think both have a reasonable chance of walking under 2/9, and both are proving tough to hit.
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radiohix
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'At the end of the day, we bang. We bang. We're going to swing.' Alex Verdugo
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Post by radiohix on Apr 16, 2016 13:31:08 GMT -5
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