Discussion Question: Zach Lee or Anthony Ranaudo?

Ill take the 10% Lee becomes a #1 over the 30% chance Ranaudo becomes a #3

As far as I can tell there isn’t a single quality video on youtube that could actually give a layperson any idea of his stuff. No velocity readings, bad angles where you can’t even see the batter, and a bunch of videos from his jr. season when he was working through injury.

I’d love to see some better-quality video if it’s out there though.

Ranaudo was good but not more than that for LSU. His command has been erratic at best and his repertoire lacks depth. He’s got the velocity when healthy but I’m skeptical that he’s any more than a project guy who might get to a No. 3 starter.

just want to say that the only time I saw Ranaudo was during the CWS LSU won with LeMaheiu, Mitchell, and Chad Jones the S playing LHRP. If I’m recalling correctly, I remember him losing some stuff as the games went on, though it’s vaguely and could easily be proven wrong.

I do think there’s alot of upside…he gets a good downhill plane when he’s going and the guy’s like 6’7…he’s got the potential to become one of those sinker/curveball guys like Wainwright and Carpenter.

He does seem to be mischaracterized a lot, over- or underrated. Every report I’ve read has him as less raw than expected based on his background, but he’s a h.s. arm. Who knows?

I don’t think I said anything about Lee, who is a nice prospect but obviously has a long way to go. The biggest problem with Lee is that nobody really knows exactly how good he can be, which is either a great thing or a terrible thing depending on your mood. He shows at least some potential to be excellent in all the ways that matter, but he hasn’t really been put under the microscope to the same degree that a lot of other players have been. To his credit, he’s not as inexperienced on the mound as Casey Kelly was, and Kelly gets praise for his polish despite not prioritizing his development as a pitcher until this last year.

 I’m iffy on the BP report on Ranaudo. He has good velocity but his secondaries are both pretty raw. If all goes well he has good, not great stuff across the board and a decent idea of how to pitch with perhaps average command.

Ranaudo has a better present fastball, but Lee throws pretty hard already with movement and about as much reasonable projection as you can get. Lee has slightly better secondaries and they’re less erratic despite Lee having less experience. And Lee definitely holds a big edge in command. I’ve gotta take Lee, as he’s got the better ceiling AND the better potential for command gives him a better floor. I’m too worried that Ranaudo is going to get blown up in A ball or that his stuff is going to level out in AA.