The Future Red Sox Ace: SP Anthony Ranaudo

8/1/2014

Red Sox Nation, feast your eyes on the newest Red Sox player and the future ace of your team's pitching staff.

Ryan Fox (@Spider_Fox87)

The Red Sox farm system has a multitude of young pitchers in all its different levels. Players like Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa, Brandon Workman, and Henry Owens. Some of them even have pitched in the majors this season. But among those young pitchers is a giant, waiting for his chance to showcase to Red Sox nation he is the future of the franchise. That pitcher is Anthony Ranaudo.

At 6’7”, Ranaudo towers over teammates and the opposition. However he doesn’t need his size to overwhelm

opposing batters. Rather, he relies on a 95-mph fastball that can blow by batters or jam them for an easy out. But to those who are not familiar with Mr. Ranaudo, just take a look below to get to know him better.

Background
Anthony Ranaudo was originally drafted in the 11th round out of St. Rose High School in New Jersey in the 2007 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers. However he decided to attend Louisiana State University and play college baseball. After three years pitching there, including a 2009 College World Series victory, Ranaudo entered the 2010 MLB and was taken 39th overall in the 1st Round Supplemental Draft by the Boston Red Sox.

But prior to joining the Red Sox, Ranaudo pitched with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League in 2010. In 5starts with the Whitecaps, Ran-

audo went 3-0 with an ERA of 0.00, pitched in 29.2 innings while walking 8 batters, struck out 31, and had a WHIP of 0.61. After the end of the 2010, Ranaudo signed with the Boston Red Sox.

In 2011, Ranaudo made his debut with the Greenville Drive in Single-A. He pitched in 10 games with the Drive, starting all 10 of them. Then on May 31, Ranaudo was promoted to High-A to pitch for the Salem Red Sox, pitching in 16 games for them (he started all 16 games with Salem Red Sox). Between the two clubs, Ranaudo went 9-6 in 26 games (started all 26), pitching 137 innings with an ERA of 3.97. He also gave up 115 hits, 63 runs (56 were earned), 46 walks, recorded 117 strikeouts, had a WHIP of 1.268, and held opposing batters to a .244 average.

Prior to the start of the 2012 season, Ranaudo was promoted to Double-A Portland to pitch for the Sea Dogs. Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly for the young righty that year.

He opened up the season on the disabled list with a right groin strain he suffered during the offseason. It wasn’t until May 15 when he was reinstated onto the active roster. Ranaudo ended up pitching in 9 games (starting all 9 of them), going 1-3 with an ERA of 6.69 in 37.2 innings. He also gave up 41 hits, 29 runs (28 were earned), 27 walks, struck out 27 batters, had a WHIP 1.805, and opponents hit .283 against him. But after pitching for 9 games, Ranaudo went back on the disabled list with shoulder issues on July 4 and remained there for the rest of the season.

But then in 2013, Ranaudo had a bounce back year in a big way. He started the year in Portland and took the Eastern L-

eague by storm. He started the year in Portland and began to dominate the Eastern League. He pitched in 19 games with the Sea Dogs (starting all 19 of them) to go 8-4 with an ERA of 2.95, recorded 106 strikeouts, a WHIP of 1.094, and held opponent batters to a .204 batting average against him. Because of his dominance, Ranaudo was voted both to the Eastern Division Team in the Eastern League All-Star on July 10 (he also started that game too) and to the U.S. Team in the MLB’s All-Star Futures Game on July 14. The Double-A accolades continued for Ranaudo as he was voted to both the Double-A Eastern League Mid-Season and End of Year All-Star teams and was named Eastern League Player on the Year.

Then on August 2, Ranaudo got the call up to the Triple-A level to pitch for the Pawtucket Red Sox. He ended up pitched in 6 games with them (starting in 5 of them) and went 3-1 with an ERA of 2.97, had 21 strikeouts, a 1.286 WHIP, while opposing batters hit .271 against him. Ranaudo ended up pitching in the postseason for the PawSox during their Governors’ Cup title defense. He made 2 starts to go 0-1 with an ERA of 5.63, giving up 11 hits, and striking out 5. His final numbers for the season were as followed: 25 games played (24 started), an 11-5 record with a 2.96 ERA in 140 innings. Ranaudo also gave up 112 hits, 50 runs (46 earned), walked 57, struck out 127, had a WHIP of 1.094, and held batters to a .219 average.

2014 Season
It seemed like Anthony Ranaudo’s stock was on the rise again. Prior to the opening of the 2014 season, he was named to the Boston Red Sox 40-man roster on November 20, 2013, and participated in his first MLB Spring Training Camp down in Ft. Myers, FL. He was also ranked the No. 7 overall prospect by SoxProspects.com and the No. 6 overall prospect by MLB.com in the Red Sox Farm System.

After finishing up with Spring Training, Ranaudo was transferred to Triple-A Pawtucket to begin the 2014 season. He played in 21 games (starting in all of them) to go 12-4 w-

ith an ERA of 2.41. Ranaudo threw in 119.1 innings, giving up just 88 hits, 37 runs (32 earned), walked 49, struck out 99, had a WHIP of 1.148, and held opponents to a .205 batting average. He was also named to the International League Mid-Season All-Star team.

Outlook
If I were a gambling man, I put all my chips on Anthony Ranaudo. Ranaudo is only 24 so he still has yet to reach his full potential. His productivity keeps increasing of the course of the year and it seems like he still has more in him.

Upon seeing him pitch live, you can see why batters have a hard time hitting him. He has three tough pitches (curveball, changeup, and a fastball that can go up to 96 mph) plus one big factor: his height. Already Ranaudo stands at 6’7’’ but when he’s on the pitcher’s mound, that’s an additional 10 inches to his height. Because of that, he can throw a pitch at a more downward angle with such velocity in the same manner that former MLB pitcher Randy Johnson use to throw at (Randy Johnson height was 6’10’’).

With the recent trades of Jon Lester and John Lackey, the Boston Red Sox need to call upon their farm arms to step into those roles. There will be some growing pains for Ranaudo as he will need to adjust to the speed of the game at the major league level. However make no mistake about it, this young man will make an impact in Boston.

He has the hardworking attitude and ethic to put in the work into becoming the ace pitcher he is meant to be. Red Sox Nation will never forget what Jon Lester did for their team but now it’s time for Anthony Ranaudo to shine. And shine he will.

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