Adam Ravenelle Seeks Proper Gear
DETROIT—The Tigers are not sure where righthander Adam Ravenelle’s fastball will settle. They just know—whether it’s 95 or 98 mph—that it will be a good one.
A 24-year-old reliever, Ravenelle has been clocked as high as 101 mph, but the Tigers don’t expect him to throw that hard consistently. The key to his success will be finding a velocity that allows him to command his fastball consistently.
“It’s about command,” farm director Dave Owen said. “It’s about commanding his pitches in the strike zone—up, down, in, out. He’s going to have to figure out what speed that is. Is it 98 (mph)? Is it 96? Is it 95? . . .
“I think once Adam figures out where he’s going to fall as far as velocity, where he’s really comfortable repeating (his mechanics) . . . it’s going to be really good. He has plus velo, and he’s going to have a plus slider to go with it.”
Ravenelle, a fourth-round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2014, went 3-2, 3.88 in 50 appearances in 2016 while splitting time between high Class A Lakeland and Double-A Erie. He struck out 8.8 and walked 5.1 per nine innings while allowing 47 hits and seven home runs in 58 innings.
Ravenelle’s strikeout rate jumped to 10.8 per nine innings at Double-A—but so too did his walk rate (5.4).
Many hard-throwing relievers polish their fastball first and then battle to develop a solid secondary pitch, which is often a ticket to a big league bullpen. Ravenelle’s best pitch may very well be his fastball. But while he works to better command that, he’ll continue to throw what Owen referred to as a “wipeout” slider.
“It’s legit,” Owen said. “You bet. He’s got a legit slider.”
Ravenelle will likely begin 2017 back at Erie. But barring something unforeseen, he will make his Triple-A Toledo debut at some point. From there, Detroit is only an hour up the road and one transaction away.
TIGER TALES
• The Tigers added Omar Infante and Brendan Ryan on minor league deals to give the organization veteran depth up the middle and to bolster their Triple-A roster.
• Lefthander Daniel Stumpf, whom the Tigers added in the major league Rule 5 draft, will have plenty of competition for an Opening Day roster spot. The 40-man roster also includes lefty relievers Justin Wilson, Blaine Hardy and Kyle Ryan.
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