Nick Raquet

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Washington Nationals #29 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Raquet started his college career at North Carolina before transferring to William & Mary, where he was able to play alongside his brother Brandon. He struck out 95 in 77 innings for the Tribe, impressing the Nationals enough for them to take him 103rd overall and give him a $475,000 bonus. He breezed up to high Class A within a year of being drafted, but he found the going tougher in the Carolina League.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: After struggling to a 4.91 ERA and allowing 72 hits in 55 innings at Potomac in 2018, Raquet was more consistent last season. He held lefthanded batters to .209/.260/.338 numbers while starting each of the 25 games he appeared in before pitching in relief during the Arizona Fall League. Raquet throws a low- to mid-90s fastball that has heavy armside run and also features a slider, curveball and changeup. The slider has been the better of his two breaking balls, and he might be better off scrapping one and focusing on a simplified, three-pitch arsenal—especially if his future is in the bullpen. Raquet pitches with an up-tempo delivery that includes some funk that adds deception, particularly against same-sided hitters.
  
  THE FUTURE: Raquet has been a starter to get as many repetitions as possible, but his long-term role could be in the bullpen. He recorded an 8.49 ERA in 11.2 relief innings in the Arizona Fall League, so he'll have adjustments to make when he likely heads to Double-A Harrisburg for the first time in 2020.
• 
  Ranked Washington Nationals #19 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: The Nationals signed Raquet for $475,000 in the third round after a 2017 season with William & Mary where the southpaw struck out 11 batters per nine innings. After a solid debut last summer, Raquet progressed to the Carolina League in 2018, where he ran into his first professional speed bump, posting a 4.91 ERA over 55 innings of work.
  
  Scouting Report: Raquet throws with a high-energy, up-tempo delivery and sits in the low to mid-90s with a fastball that features heavy armside running action. He's shown both a slider and a curveball, the former in the mid-80s with some tilt and the latter in the upper 70s that's loopier and more of a change-of-pace offering than an out-pitch. Raquet also works in an average changeup that plays up with his slightly funky delivery. Projected to wind up in the bullpen out of the draft, the Nationals have stuck with Raquet as a starter to this point, and a respectable four-pitch mix plus solid strikethrowing should keep him there until he struggles.
  
  The Future: Still, Raquet wore down as the season progressed and most scouts think he'd be a better fit in the bullpen, where his stuff could tick up.
• 
  Ranked Washington Nationals #21 prospect in 2018
  The Nationals made Raquet a 2017 third-rounder, signing him for $475,000 after a sophomore campaign at William & Mary that analytics departments might look at as mediocre at best. The 22-year-old southpaw transferred from North Carolina after a 2015 freshman season where he threw just 6.1 innings. He sat out a year, then pitched to a 4.66 ERA in 77.1 innings in the Colonial Athletic Association. Raquet has a solid history in collegiate summer leagues--1.23 ERA in the Cal Ripken League; 2.23 ERA in the Northwoods League--and some exciting stuff with a mid-90s fastball that touched 96 mph in 2017. He also throws an above-average changeup and an upper-70s tweener curveball with above-average potential. He's most likely a reliever down the line but was solid in his pro debut in the short-season New York-Penn League in 12 starts. He's got a funky delivery that will be worth monitoring as far as repeating his mechanics goes, but he has the stuff to get both righties and lefties out. Raquet has a small chance to be a starter, but the bullpen is a more likely outcome.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #145 prospect in 2017 draft
  One of several lefthanders who transferred out of North Carolina and improved their draft stock--along with Brendon Little and Hunter Williams--Raquet left the Tar Heels and sat out a season before joining the team at William & Mary, where he played alongside his young brother Brandon, who was the team's best hitter as a freshman. The older Raquet entered the season as the No. 7 prospect in the Colonial Athletic Conference. The 6-foot lefty doesn't have the greatest numbers this season (and his 45 walks in 77.1 innings are a legitimate concern) with a 4.66 ERA, but does offer two intriguing tools. His arm strength has allowed him to throw in the lower 90s and touch 96, while holding that velocity throughout his outings. On top of that, he has an above-average changeup and some scouts say he has solid breaking balls to go with it, which explains how he struck out 95 batters. While many analytics departments might not love Raquet's redshirt sophomore campaign and his lack of history, it's hard to deny the tools he has, which could play up in a bullpen role in the future.

• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Raquet started his college career at North Carolina before transferring to William & Mary, where he was able to play alongside his brother Brandon. He struck out 95 in 77 innings for the Tribe, impressing the Nationals enough for them to take him 103rd overall and give him a $475,000 bonus. He breezed up to high Class A within a year of being drafted, but he found the going tougher in the Carolina League.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: After struggling to a 4.91 ERA and allowing 72 hits in 55 innings at Potomac in 2018, Raquet was more consistent last season. He held lefthanded batters to .209/.260/.338 numbers while starting each of the 25 games he appeared in before pitching in relief during the Arizona Fall League. Raquet throws a low- to mid-90s fastball that has heavy armside run and also features a slider, curveball and changeup. The slider has been the better of his two breaking balls, and he might be better off scrapping one and focusing on a simplified, three-pitch arsenal—especially if his future is in the bullpen. Raquet pitches with an up-tempo delivery that includes some funk that adds deception, particularly against same-sided hitters.
  
  THE FUTURE: Raquet has been a starter to get as many repetitions as possible, but his long-term role could be in the bullpen. He recorded an 8.49 ERA in 11.2 relief innings in the Arizona Fall League, so he'll have adjustments to make when he likely heads to Double-A Harrisburg for the first time in 2020.