Twins Select Marco Raya with the 128th Overall Pick

[Andrew Thares]

After taking two college hitters in Aaron Sabato and Alerick Soularie, with their first and second round picks, respectively. In the fourth-round, the Twins selected their first pitcher of the draft, taking Marco Raya, a right-handed pitcher from Laredo, Texas.Watching Marco Raya pitch, you can tell this kid is a great athlete. Despite being undersized at just 6'0", Raya is able to maximize his velocity through his mechanics and quick twitch. Another thing that is evident with Raya is the balance he has on his back leg, which really helps him get into his set and deliver strikes with consistency.

 

Twins scouting director Sean Johnson noted, "We really love his mechanics, his delivery, his arm action. He checks a lot of boxes for us. For a high school pitcher, great foundation to evolve into a starter."

 

Johnson also said they liked a lot about his current pitch mix, "We’ve seen him up to 94 mph. He’s got two distinct breaking balls and a good changeup. He’s got a great foundation to develop. He’s a great piece of clay for our player development to mold and to build. He’s not huge in stature, but he’s still got room to add strength."

 

Raya will typically sit in the low 90s with his fastball, and it is hard to project a lot more than that from him down the road. However, it does record relatively high spin rates for a fastball, typically at 2,400 RPM plus, which could help make it more of a future strikeout pitch than just the pure velocity would suggest.

 

Raya also brings two excellent breaking balls to the table, with a sharp slider, and a hard-breaking curveball that to me appears to be his best pitch. The slider sits in the low-to-mid 80s, while the curveball has more downward break and is typically upper 70s. Just like with his fastball, Raya can generate high spin rates with both of his breaking pitches, which is something a lot of analytically driven scouting departments, like the Twins, want to see in young pitchers as they try to project them going forwars.

 

Finally, Raya mixes in the occasional low 80s changeup, that shows signs of a future fourth average or better pitch. This will be a key factor in Raya's development as a starting pitcher. If he can continue to develop all four of his pitches, and show that they are MLB worth pitches, he has a real shot making it as a starting pitcher with a four-pitch mix. If not, Raya's could be a likely bullpen candidate, where his fastball could potentially play up a little bit, and his breaking ball could dominate.

 

According to Johnson, Raya also has great intangibles. "He’s a tremendous worker, a tremendous competitor. Tremendous competitor. He's a solid athlete. Again, we’re really excited to get him in the fourth round."

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[mlhouse]

https://ps-baseball.com/prospects/marco-raya/13220/

 

[Patrick Wozniak]

Berrios 2.0

[jud6312]

Well, at least it's a pitcher.

[Tom Froemming]

 

Berrios 2.0

Saw some Marcus Stroman physical comparisons, but this works too. Of course, there's always a chance he has a late growth spurt. 

[DasBat]

Happy it’s a pitcher

[mikelink45]

MLB is never going to compete with NFL and NBA drafts.

[DocBauer]

Interesting to me the FO is not breaking trends in this draft. Select position players you think can succeed that have at least one proven tool and build on the rest.

 

Instead of grabbing a pitcher to grab a pitcher, look at mechanics, look for at least one great pitch, look at spin rate, and then project what that pitcher can be in 2-4yrs with proper coaching.

 

Only time will tell if they are right, but they certainly have conviction in their process.

 

In regard to Raya in particular, any HS pitcher with mechanics and spin rate and 2 solid/good breaking balls, not hard to project additional growth and velocity over the next couple of years. If signed, he's suddenly 94-95mph in a couple years with spin and even better breaking stuff and someone teaches him some sort of change, well, there you go. Suddenly you have a really nice looking 21yo ready for AA.

[Tom Froemming]

 

MLB is never going to compete with NFL and NBA drafts.

... are they all on the same day or something?

[Seth Stohs]

Love this pick. Twins love this pick. They love his mechanics.

 

I think there are Berrios comparisons. Both great athletes. Berrios a little stronger. Raya much better mechanics. I see some Stroman in his delivery.

 

Got him for just a little over slot too. 

 

5th round could be interesting!!

[DocBauer]

Love this pick. Twins love this pick. They love his mechanics.

 

I think there are Berrios comparisons. Both great athletes. Berrios a little stronger. Raya much better mechanics. I see some Stroman in his delivery.

 

Got him for just a little over slot too. 

 

5th round could be interesting!!

Got him for a little over slot? Are you projecting or stating it's a done deal?

[DocBauer]

Also forgot to comment on the great athlete aspect, I've always liked pitchers who were good athletes. Never understood why being athletic was only tied to being a position player. Being a good overall athlete as a pitcher should only help mechanically, provide health and conditioning, as well as being able to field your position.

[Monkeypaws]

 

Got him for a little over slot? Are you projecting or stating it's a done deal?

Ted tweeted about an hour ago that they reached an agreement.

[DocBauer]

Ted tweeted about an hour ago that they reached an agreement.

Awesome. Thank you. I don't do Twitter so good news. Despite so little information at my fingertips, for some reason, this selection excites me more than the others.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Got him for a little over slot? Are you projecting or stating it's a done deal?

 

Both... I think. Guessing that they couldn't officially do anything, but these picks are usually contingent on an agreement being in place, and that's especially true this year. 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Awesome. Thank you. I don't do Twitter so good news. Despite so little information at my fingertips, for some reason, this selection excites me more than the others.

 

I love this pick so much... and the Rosario one too. For whatever reason, fair or not, I get way more excited about high school picks than college picks.  

[Tom Froemming]

Some more video with Trackman data

[Shaitan]

 

I love this pick so much... and the Rosario one too. For whatever reason, fair or not, I get way more excited about high school picks than college picks.  

 

I think HS is a better "human element" story, as we get to watch the players grow both professionally and as people. If you're into that part of the MLB storyline, it adds great depth.

[wabene]

Saw some Marcus Stroman physical comparisons, but this works too. Of course, there's always a chance he has a late growth spurt.

This kid's got chunks in his stool bigger than Stroman.

[DocBauer]

I keep reading he's between 160-170lbs. Someone buy this kid a couple cheeseburgers! Athletic, smooth mechanics and sits 90-94mph consistently from what I read. (Along with 2 above average breaking balls and a solid change). What kind of velocity does he have in a couple of years when he's 190lbs?