Rangel Ravelo is being called up by the St. Louis Cardinals to make his big league debut in his 10th pro season. Ravelo spent 2010-2014 in the Chicago White Sox organization before catching on with the Oakland Athletics for two seasons and has now been with the Cardinals for the past three.
Ravelo is not your prototypical first baseman as he is not a guy who will hit for a lot of power (had a career high 13 HRs a season ago) but he is a guy that can hit for a solid average and play quality defense at first. He has a quiet swing with good hand placement that allows him to get the bat to the zone quickly despite lacking elite bat speed.
He lacks the upside he once possessed and he is blocked at his natural position by a decent first baseman by the name of Paul Goldschmidt, but he has nothing left to prove at AAA and has long been deserving of this promotion. He started his career as a third baseman but hasn’t played there in years, although he has seen time in the corner outfield recently and has shown he is at least passable there.
A corner bat without much pop is far from an ideal player, but the gap power and ability to hit for average could easily play well enough for him to stick around for a bit and be a quality bench piece.
Shaun Kernahan is the founder and lead writer of Three Quarter Slot, where he blends scouting precision with a storyteller’s eye for the human side of the game. Based in Parker, Colorado, he has covered baseball prospects at every level since 2013, delivering in-depth evaluations, draft analysis, and developmental insight. Over the years, he has built Three Quarter Slot into a trusted home for thoughtful prospect coverage, detailed scouting reports, and a grounded look at how talent evolves
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