The White Sox took their first high school positional player in the 6th
round of the MLB draft, that player is third baseman Rangel Ravelo out
of Hialeah HS (FL).
A former teammate of the #3 pick in the draft Manny Machado, Rangel Ravelo has made a lot of improvement over the last year. He wasn’t considered much of a prospect last summer and the only reason scouts saw him play was because he played with Machado. He was extremely raw at that point. Ravelo did have a commitment to Florida International University, but he was thought to be academically ineligible.
Ravelo had a very good spring and his prospect status jumped significantly in the process. He made good improvements in all areas of his game. He started hitting the ball more consistently and scouts are now projecting him as an above average to plus hitter. He does have some problems with hitting breaking balls, but his hand-eye coordination is excellent. Like his hitting ability, Ravelo projects as an above average to plus hitter for power, making him a potentially very strong all-around hitter. His defensive ability doesn’t quite match his offensive ability. Currently he plays 3B and he has a good arm, more than enough for the position, but scouts worry that he’ll have to move to 1B due to a lack of range, and at 6’2″, 207 lbs, he could fill out further and lose even more range.
Despite the vast improvements made by Ravelo, he was still only viewed as a borderline top 10 round pick, making him a slight overdraft by the White Sox in the 6th, but he offers good upside, something that this draft class lacks. If he has to move to 1B it will obviously affect his future value, but to have drafted him as high as they did, the White Sox probably believe that he can stick at the hot corner.
Ravelo signed quickly for slot money, $125,000, and has been assigned to rookie level Bristol White Sox of the Appalachian League.