Follow the Prospects: Robbie Ray, LHP

[Lintyfresh85]

Height:  6'2
Weight:  170
DOB:  10/01/1991
Hometown:  Brentwood, Tenn.
School(s):  Brentwood High School
Position:  Starting Pitcher
Drafted: 12th round in 2010 draft
Nationals Prospect rank for 2011: #NR - Fangraphs, #15 - Baseball America, #7 - Minor League Ball, #8 - Baseball Prospectus 

2013 - assigned to Potomac (A+)

[strasmasndzimmermas10]

correction its Robbie......

By the way . So far 3 perfect innings .... except for an error by an in-fielder and 3 strike outs.

[PANatsFan]

I become torn when the Nats steal Rice prospects.

[Lintyfresh85]

correction its Robbie......

By the way . So far 3 perfect innings .... except for an error by an in-fielder and 3 strike outs.

I spelled it Robbie.

I become torn when the Nats steal Rice prospects.

He was an Arkansas recruit.

No need to be torn!

[strasmasndzimmermas10]

I spelled it Robbie.

Now you did. :wink:

[Lintyfresh85]

Anyways... through 4IP, 0H, 0BB, 4K

[Lintyfresh85]

Guessing he's probably done for the night... But Ray goes 5 scoreless, gives up one hit and strikes out six.

Impressive.

[strasmasndzimmermas10]

Im reading hes done...... Very Impressive outing. Any scouting reports on this guy though?

Him And A.J were Smart choices.

[Lintyfresh85]

His HS scouting report had him at 90... Though I've heard he's throwing harder now.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Where is he? Hagersburg?  Potomacuse?

[natstime]

wow.  this could turn out to be a very nice draft class

[Lintyfresh85]

Where is he? Hagersburg?  Potomacuse?

Hagerstown

[RD]

I become torn when the Nats steal Rice prospects.

You're thinking of John Simms(think that was his name). We drafted him in the 30 something round, but he actually did end up at Rice.

[hammondsnats]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/nationals-journal/post/a-dazzling-debut-for-hagerstowns-robbie-ray/2011/05/10/AF5mjyhG_blog.html#pagebreak

Here is what Robbie Ray missed by spending the first five weeks of the minor league season at extended spring training in Florida, rather than at low Class A Hagerstown: He missed the Bryce Harper circus. He missed the Suns’ eight-game winning streak and their surge to the top record in the South Atlantic League. He missed a lot of 10-hour bus rides.

But here is what the Suns missed during those same five weeks: A 6-foot-2 lefty with a sneaky-fast 91- to 92-mph fastball, a filthy slider and a nice change-up. A fearless strike-thrower who works fast and who only mixes in a ball when he thinks it serves a greater purpose. A 19-year-old who looks like he’s been doing this forever.

Those impressions, mind you, were formed on the basis of just one outing. But what an outing it was. On Monday night, Ray made his professional starting debut for the Suns, pitching five shutout, one-hit innings against the Delmarva Shorebirds. He carried a no-hitter into the fifth, gave up a leadoff double — the only well-struck ball he gave up — then went ground out, strikeout, strikeout (his fifth and sixth of the night) to close out the inning, before departing due to a predetermined innings limit.

But here are some even more impressive numbers: Not only did Ray not walk a batter — he also never faced a three-ball count and never fell behind 2-0 in the count. He threw only 13 balls among his 59 pitches.

“He almost threw more pitches in the bullpen [during warm-ups] than he did in the game,” joked Hagerstown pitching coach Chris Michalak.


Ray’s slider was particularly impressive, and he used it after getting ahead to finish off the majority of his strikeouts. On his final strikeout of the night, he actually hit the batter in the midsection, but the poor guy (a right-handed batter) was fooled so badly he couldn’t stop his swing. I thought the pitch must have been a high slider, to have gotten so deep into the right-handed batter’s box (from the pressbox vantage point, and without benefit of a radar-gun readout, it was difficult to tell), but Ray said it was just a fastball, and figured the guy must have been looking for a change-up.

“The command of his fastball is what stood out,” said Hagerstown Manager Brian Daubach. “Even when he missed, he missed where he wanted to miss.”

(Incidentally, in 2009 Ray pitched for the 18-and-under U.S. national team that won the world championship. His catcher? Bryce Harper.)

It has been a particularly stellar week for the Suns. Ace Cameron Selik (3-0, 0.31 ERA in five starts) was promoted to high Class A Potomac. Harper was named “Sally” League player of the week (12-24, one homer, four doubles, dour RBI). And within a span of three days, two of the top arms in the Nationals’ organization, Ray and right-hander A.J. Cole, made their professional starting debuts. (Cole, 19, gave up five hits, including a homer, and two earned runs in 3 2/3 innings on Saturday.)

Cole and Ray, both of whom signed above-slot deals with the Nationals out of high school last summer, were kept in extended spring training until this week in order to get them acclimated to the every-fifth-day rhythm of professional baseball, without subjecting them to the volatile weather of April in the northeast.

“It was difficult,” Ray said, “because you’re pitching in front of about four guys, and all of them have got a radar gun. But once you get up here it’s a different story.”

I’ll repeat the disclaimer from above regarding Ray: This was just one outing, and on its own it doesn’t mean anything. But it is a rare treat to stumble upon a debut so impressive, and I thought you all would care to know about it.

[sportsfan882]

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=13868

Can someone post this article? Supposedly something about Ray is in it

[Lintyfresh85]

Cool.

Then again, you question the level of talent these guys are facing when hitters swing at fastballs hitting them in the chest, lol.

[tomterp]

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=13868

Can someone post this article? Supposedly something about Ray is in it

Robby Ray, LHP, Nationals (Low-A Hagerstown): 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K

2010 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Harper added two more hits last night to continue his blazing debut, but he wasn't the biggest story on the team, as Ray made his debut, and as you can see, pitched quite well. A 12th-round pick last year who signed for $800,000, Ray has a loose arm that had been up to 94 in the past, as well as a good changeup for his age, but his high school career was marked by inconsistency in terms of both velocity and the quality of his breaking ball. All the ingredients are there for a good pitching prospect, and they seem to have been all on display Monday night.

[Evolution33]

Is loose arm new to the scouting terms? Because it makes it sound like his arm might fly off at any moment.

[Lintyfresh85]

It means he doesn't have any herky jerky movements that might lead to arm trouble down the line. It's a free and smooth movement from points A to B to C.

[Evolution33]

It means he doesn't have any herky jerky movements that might lead to arm trouble down the line. It's a free and smooth movement from points A to B to C.

It just sounds weird like when they say a basketball player is long.

[Smithian]

I become torn when the Nats steal Rice prospects.

He was an Arkansas commitment. Was supposed to be a weekend starter for us.

[Lintyfresh85]

For those that don't follow college baseball, "weekend starter" means one the top 3 starters on the team.

[PANatsFan]

He was an Arkansas commitment. Was supposed to be a weekend starter for us.

Why did I think Rice? Didn't the Nats sign a kid from The Woodlands?

[JMUalumni]

“That was as good a start as I have seen all year,” said Suns manager Brian Daubach about the Washington Nationals’ 12th-round selection from the 2010 draft. “Ray can’t pitch much better than he did tonight. He was on a tight pitch count and still managed to go five innings.”

Ray, a 19-year-old left-hander from Brentwood, Tenn., was in total command of the game from the first pitch. He faced two batters over the minimum through the first two innings — both reaching on Suns errors. The only hit he allowed was a leadoff double to Michael Ohlman in the fifth.

“That was the way he was in spring training,” Daubach said. “He worked really well with (catcher David Freitas). He went after batters and trusted his talents.”

http://www.herald-mail.com/sports/hm-bbm-suns-shorebirds-20110509,0,1783382.story

[Lintyfresh85]

Second straight scoreless outing for Ray.

6IP, 2H, 1BB, 7K, 0R