AAP: Rangel Ravelo Options

[NorthSideSox72]

(IMG:http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000NQLspOlJBLM/t/150/I0000NQLspOlJBLM.jpg)

Rangel Ravelo, 3B
Born 04/24/1992 in Hialeah, FL
6’2", 210
Throws: R
Bats: R

OVERVIEW/SCOUTING INFO
Ravelo was drafted very young (18 years 1.5 months on draft day) and very raw. Scouts have projected him as an above average to plus hitter, and raved about his and-eye coordination. He also is projected as above average or plus for power. Negatives offensively include limited ability to hit breaking pitches, and a lack of speed. Defensively, while he has a strong arm, there are questions about his ability to stick at 3B due to lack of range, and he may have to move to 1B. Given the Sox drafted him a little higher than others may have, they seem to feel he has a good chance to hold at the position.

So far, Ravelo's results offensively have been given to a high average, decent contact rate, but low walk rate and minimal power. He's still only 20, and the questions at this point seem to be about whether or not he will add the power he has been projected into, if he can increase his walk rate, and if his defensive abilities can keep him at third base. At this point, power has increased a little, but not dramatically, 2 years in. His walk rate is going up.

SCHOOL NOTES
Rangel played at Hialeah HS, and may not have been noticed at first, except that he was a teammaate of the 3rd overall pick in the same draft, Manny Machado. But he also had a very solid spring in his senior year, to jump up the boards on his own.

SIGN/DRAFT
Drafted by the White Sox in the 6th round of the 2010 draft, at age 18 out of Hialeah High School. Signed quickly, on 6/16/10, for a bonus of $125,000, more or less slot-money.

MINORS
Rangel's professional career started at Bristol (Rk, Appy), as is the case for most White Sox high school draft picks. His 2010 numbers were uninspiring, posting a .254/.291/.335/.626 line. His K/PA rate (14%) was OK, especially for a guy who recently turned 18, but he didn't walk much (5% BB rate). Only 11 of his 44 hits were of the extra base variety, 9 of those being doubles.

But he broke out in 2011, posting a .384/.410/.507/.917 line in just 20 games repeating Bristol, before being promoted to Low A Kannapolis at age 19. There he hit for a very good average and increased his walk rate a little (to 7%), but still showed little power posting a .317/.368/.373/.740 line. 9 of his 51 hits were for extra bases. His K rate went down a bit to 11%.

Here in 2012 (as of 5/29), his walk rate is about the same as last year, and his strike out rate has increased but not to any alarming extent (14%). The sacrifice in contact seems to be directly correlated to his power potential: his SLG has gone from .373 to .438 at Low A Kanny, accompanied by only a .007 increase in batting average. He's also stolen 4 bases (no CS) so far this season, which is double what he has in his previous two seasons combined. Hard to tell if it is a function of what they are trying to do to develop him, but... all those XBH occurred in his first month or so of play. So, 16 of his first 49 hits were for extras, but also 24 of his 26 K's. But since May 19th, all 8 hits have been singles... yet he's only struck out twice in that time (5%), while walking 5 times (14%). His current line on the 2012 season is .324/.382/.438/.819.

PERSONAL/OTHER

STATS/REFERENCE

MILB page

Baseball Cube page

FutureSox Draft Profile

Baseball Instinct report update in 2012

[NorthSideSox72]

Ravelo headed to the SAL all-star game...

Ravelo, 20, has the ninth-best average in the league, currently hitting .321 (63-196) with two home runs and 27 RBI. He hit safely in 15-straight games during the first month of the season. The White Sox selected Ravelo in the sixth round of the June 2010 draft. He split the 2011 season between Advanced Rookie Bristol and Kannapolis, hitting .338 in 63 games. Ravelo was named First-Team All-Dade County by the Miami Herald at Hialeah (Fla.) High School.

[NorthSideSox72]

Monthly update...

June wasn't as kind to Rangel at the plate - his slash line on the month was .240/.282/.350. Things have picked up slightly in recent days, but nothing to wrote home about. His K rate has dropped each month, which is good to see: 15.8% in April, 11.1%, 10.5%. Still not walking much.

The league adjusted to him, and now this 20 year old needs to adjust back. His season line sits at .296/.348/.407/.755. He's making good contact and hitting for average, but he's made 15 errors too. He needs to up the power and/or OBP, and/or improve his defense, if he wants to remain a prospect to watch. At 20 years old in A Ball, this doesn't need to happen overnight.

[NorthSideSox72]

Rangel hasn't played since 7/3, and is still on the restricted list for personal reasons. No change to his stats or status.

[NorthSideSox72]

With the season over, Rangel Ravelo never made it back to the team. He stated the season on a tear (see above updates), dropped off precipitously in June/July, and then went on the Restricted List for the remainder of the season for personal reasons. I am trying to find more information on this, but as it is personal in nature, I am not going to share all of what little I know.

Rangel finishes the year with a .290/.343/.397/.739 slash line, a very good contact rate (11.5% K/PA), and a .053 Iso OBP at age 20 in Low A. But it is impossible to predict his future at this point, due to the personal leave. Hopefully things work out well for him, and he can get back to the game.

[NorthSideSox72]

Ravelo made it back to camp this year, and has been assigned to Kannapolis again. Not a huge surprise, given his missed development time, and if he hits he may not stick around long.

What IS a bit of a surprise, though, is that he started his opening game at 1B. There were rumors (courtesy of Eric Grabe's father) that he'd been spending time at first in spring camp, and there have previously been questions about whether or not he needed to move there eventually for defensive reasons. But this does make the path more difficult for him. In order to be a viable prospect at first, he needs to develop some significant power, which he has not yet done.

He's still young, so if he spends the full year in Kanny trying to develop the power, all is not lost. But if he can't make that happen, his likelihood of seeing the majors becomes much smaller.

[NorthSideSox72]

Monthly update...

Ravelo was just promoted to Winston-Salem. He wasn't hitting for much of an average (.226), and his K rate is up a bit to 16.7%. No power numbers to speak of yet, though he is drawing walks at a much higher clip. The promotion may have been pre-determined.

But the big news is... he was playing 1B at Kanny. And W-S media guy hinted he's likely to keep playing there. If he is indeed permanently at 1B, his prospect value goes down substantially. We'll see if that is the case.