Background
Born: March 21, 1986 in Bronx, NY
6'3" 225
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Drafted: 4th Round, 108th overall by the Cincinnati Reds.
Background information
Rafael was originally signed by the New York Yankees out of the Dominican Republic in 2003, but that contract was voided once it was found out that Rafael was a United States citizen who had pitched for a HS in New York his sophomore year before moving to the Dominican Republic. He played in the Gulf Coast League in 2004, but showed up in 2005 to Dayton overweight and out of shape. His game suffered a bit and was demoted to Billings. During ST for the minor leagues in 2006, Rafael left for personal reasons and the Reds had troubles staying in contact with him. He returned shortly before short season baseball began this season.
Scouting Report
Rafael sits in the 92-94MPH range with his fastball and can get it to 97 on occaision. He has a plus curveball when he is on, but needs to work with his change up. He is inconsistent with his control and needs work on it also.
mlb.com pre-draft scouting report:
FORMER LEAN PITCHERS BODY NOW HEAVY & SOFT. WIDE, ROUNDED SHOULDERS. ADDED WEIGHT THROUGH MIDDLE, HIPS & THIGHS, CORRECTABLE W/ HARD WORK. HIGH WINDUP, LOW ELBOW, 3/4 SLOT, LANDS TO 1B LINE. LOOSE ARM, NEAR COMPACT IN BACK, FINE OUT FRONT. MOST FB 90-91. KNUCKLE-CB, FLASHED 1 FAIR, 3/4 ROTATION. PLAYER STATES KNUCKLE-CB GRIP CHANGEUP. DEFINITE RAW PWR ARM STRENGTH.
Minor Leagues
Rafael showed up overweight and out of shape in 2005 and his game suffered because of it. The Reds were very disappointed in him and demoted him to Billings once short season started. He had much better success in Billings in his first season than he did in Dayton. 2006 did not get off to a good start either. During ST he left the Reds and the Reds had some problems getting in contact with him. He was gone for nearly 3 1/2 months before coming back. He started the season in Billings.
2004-2006 Stats
2007 Stats through April 19, 2007Code:Year Team Age W L ERA IP H ER HR BB SO H9 HR9 BB9 K9 WHIP 2004 GC Reds 18 1 6 4.20 40.2 38 19 3 18 32 8.41 0.66 3.98 7.08 1.38 2005 Billings 19 3 0 3.43 42.0 36 16 7 23 37 7.71 1.50 4.93 7.93 1.40 Dayton 19 3 5 9.35 26.0 24 27 5 24 22 8.31 1.73 8.31 7.62 1.85 2006 Billings 20 1 1 2.40 15.0 12 4 3 2 6 7.20 1.80 1.20 3.60 0.93 GC Reds 20 0 1 15.00 3.0 6 5 0 2 0 18.00 0.00 6.00 0.00 2.67 Dayton 20 2 4 5.22 39.2 32 23 7 25 33 7.26 1.59 5.67 7.49 1.44
Sources for informationCode:Team W L ERA IP H ER HR BB SO DAY 2 0 0.82 11.0 8 1 0 4 8
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