Brian Ragira, 1B. DOB: 1/22/1992. B-R, T-R. 6'2", 185 lbs.
2013 Short Season: .263/.371/.391
2014 High A: .260/.320/.444, 20 HR, 7.3 BB%, 25.1 K%, 506 PA.
Brian Ragira was one of my favorite HS prospects coming out of HS. John Klima of Baseball Beginnings liked him a lot and had some video on his site. What I loved about Ragira was what I call the wrist snap in his swing. It reminded me of a couple of other guys who put a lot of wrist into their swings, Eric Davis and…..Hank Aaron. Klima described it as "flicking" his wrist. What it does is give an extra acceleration of the bat head just before the moment of impact. I think of it as analogous to the "second stage" that Kruk says some pitchers put on a fastball. Ragira was a skinny kid back then but still generated a lot of power. He's filled out his frame and the wrist snap is toned down a bit after 3 years at Stanford, but it's definitely still there. I recommend looking up videos of Ragira swinging the bat then comparing them to videos of Eric Davis and Hank Aaron.
Ragira's pro career started off a bit ho-hum after the Giants took him in the 4'th round of the 2013 draft. Then he found another gear at mid-season last year with San Jose. His first half slash line was .224/.287/.364 with 5 HR in 228 AB. Second half he was .297/.353/.524 with 15 HR in 229 AB. He hit .341 over his last 10 games including one game where he went 5 for 5 with a grand slam HR. The big test will be whether he can keep it going in AA Richmond in 2015. One big downside to Ragira's prospect status is why he moved to 1B so early in his career. He is athletic with some speed and a strong throwing arm. He just looks like an OF! He'll have to keep on hitting like he did in the second half last year to make it as a 1B, but maybe he can. He does that this year in Richmond and he will move way up this list next year!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Besides the high K rate I think he had a very successful year. I would like to see the AVG up another 10 points or so but with that kind of power we know the AVG will suffer. I would like to see him as a corner OF but it will be very hard with Williamson, Carbonell and Horan most likely in AA. Ragira could still be some insurance down the road if Belt leaves for free agency. Good to see that there are prospects this far down in the list to be excited about.
ReplyDeleteI agree. What I see the Giants having that some organizations don't is a lot of high ceiling guys, most of whom may not pan out, but if just 1 or 2 of them do, they will be in terrific shape in the future.
DeleteI agree. The Giants prospects are vastly underrated by BA and others. Without Panik, Duffy and Susac, I doubt the Giants win the WS.
DeleteRecently, Kerr of the Warriors made a statement about Draymond Green being a Warrior for the next 8 to 10 years.
DeleteI think the Giants are like that, with respect to Belt...they will make an effort to retain their own, especially if the guy is productive, unless the player seeks 'another challenge' somewhere else.
Even if the guy is no longer as productive as he was before, he will still a 2 year contract.
The management is pretty traditional, old fashioned that way, you know, loyalty and stuff.