John
Rave

6/*11/16 - Drafted in the 35th round by the Boston Red Sox out of Bloomington Central Catholic HS.

1.19.14 - 6-foot, 170-pound left handed outfielder. High level foot speed, athletic and active lower half throughout his game, 6.85 runner. Defensively feet stay active, works through the baseball, efficient exchange. Rigid arm action, 76 mph from his crow hop, lacks carry. Offensively hits from the left side, balanced stance, rhythmic swing, front foot hitter, slightly uphill path, loose hands, 80 mph exit velocity.

4/13/19: One of the top position prospects in the Midwest this spring, Rave has excellent makeup and a top work ethic. He is wiry strong at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds and his carrying tool is plus-plus speed. Consistently runs in the upper-4.0s down the line from the left side. Also ran a 6.40, 60-yard during Scout Day last fall. However, to this point, the blazing speed hasn't transferred into an impact base stealing threat. He is currently 8-for-9 this spring, 25-for-33 in his two-plus year Illinois State career and was 5-for-9 in the Cape Cod League last summer. On this latest look, he was 3.38 on an attempt when a two-strike pitch was fouled off. Defensively, he has shown recent improvement to his throwing, now grading near average after showing below average earlier in the spring. It's firm out of the hand and thrown with low trajectory and solid carry. Best throw was a quick, long hop to the plate thrown from medium center field during I/O. Shows plus range in center field from gap to gap, but below average on balls hit in front or directly overhead. Recently, has also shown to be more in sync at the plate, but there is still plenty of length to his swing. He mostly works under the ball and loops. Uses hand/wrist strength and length for sneaky power to his pull side with the vast majority of his hard contact to that same side. After batting .304/.392/.464 in the Cape last summer and the recent success of former Redbirds in the professional ranks (Paul DeJong, 2015, 4th round STL and Owen Miller, 2017, 3rd round SD), Rave will be highly considered during Day Two. (Seifert)

4/9/19: More in sync at the plate, yet still long to the ball. Uses bat strength and length for power. Best he's ever thrown for me. Near avg arm strength in I/O. Firm out of hand with low trajectory and long, quick one-hop to the plate from medium CF. (Seifert)

10/1/18: A slow start to his day offensively ended with a long two-run triple in the bottom of the 8th. Connected on a 74 mph hanging curveball from a right-handed pitcher and drove it deep into center field, two-hopping the wall. Not much of an impact base stealer to this point in his college career (17-for-24 in two years), Rave showed plus speed as he shifted gears shortly after rounding first base and strode smoothly around second and into third base with a head first slide. Balanced setup with good hand strength at the plate. Very quiet and still with minimal pre-pitch movement or load. Was not challenged defensively during the game, tracking down two easy fly outs, one to each gap. Solid reactions and first step with a direct route to the ball. Showed a below average arm in pre-game I/O. Overall, a low risk and polished college position player who is a likely Day Two draft selection this June. (Seifert)

7/22/18: Amazing to see the improvements in his physicality and swing from the fall of his junior year in high school when he played for the Phillies Midwest scout team. The long loop in his swing is gone. It’s now much more compact and direct to the ball. In the batter’s box he’s now a consistent threat with line drive gap power and occasional bolts over the fence to his pull side. Does drop his back shoulder a little early in his swing, but overall it’s now much more mechanically sound and repeatable. With a wiry frame in high school, Rave is now 6’0/185 and pound-for-pound the strongest player on his college team. Credit his work ethic and aptitude to go along with the instruction he’s received over the past four years to make the needed improvements. He’s always been an above average athlete and plus runner. Ran a 4.15 on a ground out to second base and a 4.13 on a ground out to the shortstop. Also showed present average defensive abilities with fair reactions and route running, something that he undoubtedly will improve with further instruction and repetitions. His arm is below average, yet enough for center field. Possessing a gritty style of play, tools and baseball skills, he easily caught the attention of scouts this summer. Credit Boston’s scouting acumen by selecting Rave in the 35th round out of high school in 2016 as an under-the-radar prospect from Central Illinois. He has likely developed as they envisioned and now should follow in the footsteps of recent Redbirds who also went on Day Two (Paul DeJong, 2015, 4th round and Owen Miller, 2017, 3rd). (Seifert)