Roniel Raudes

Raudes earned the Boston organization's pitcher of the year honors for his work at Low-A Greenville. The right-hander from Nicaragua won 11 of his 24 starts for the Drive while becoming a South Atlantic League All-Star. Not bad for an 18-year-old who was the second-youngest player in that league. There isn't much power in his arsenal, but he has a feel for pitching, an advanced curve and, as of 2016, an improved changeup, which enabled him to strike out 104 batters in 113.1 innings. Pitchers whose fastball lives in the high 80s need impeccable control, and Raudes has it, walking just 1.8 per nine innings last year. He can get by at the lower levels of the minors, but will he have what it takes as he progresses through the system? If his fastball velocity increases in the coming years, which would not be unheard of for a pitcher his age, he will start to look like a future mid-rotation starter. Otherwise, his lack of even above average velocity would leave him with a back-of-the-rotation ceiling. These next few years could be critical for his prospect stock.