Anthony Ranaudo to Make MLB Debut With Red Sox
Former St. Rose star Anthony Ranaudo, a top pitching prospect for the Red Sox, will make his Major League debut on Friday night at Fenway Park against the Yankees after being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday.
Ranaudo, a Jackson native who grew up as a Yankees fan, will face off against Chris Capuano in Friday night's game.
The trade deadline deals of Red Sox starters Jon Lester to Oakland and John Lackey to St. Louis on Thursday opened up rotation spots, one of which will be filled by Ranaudo, 24, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound right-hander who was having an outstanding season at Pawtucket. In 21 starts, he had a 2.41 ERA with 99 strikeouts and 49 walks in 119 1/3 innings and pitched to a 1.94 ERA since June. He was rated as the No. 82 overall prospect in minor-league baseball in MLB.com's midseason rankings.
After earning All-State honors at St. Rose, where he was also a first-team All-Shore basketball player, Ranaudo helped LSU win the College World Series in 2009 and led the SEC in strikeouts the same season during a three-year career with the Tigers that concluded in 2010. He was taken with the No. 39 overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft by the Red Sox. Last year he pitched in the Futures Game during the All-Star break that features the top minor-league prospects.
Ranaudo's call-up makes it four Shore Conference graduates now playing in the big leagues. He joins Cincinnati Reds All-Star third baseman Todd Frazier (Toms River South), Tampa Bay Rays veteran outfielder David DeJesus (Manalapan) and Baltimore Orioles reliever Brad Brach (Freehold Township). Outfielder Ryan Kalish (Red Bank Catholic) began the season with the Chicago Cubs but is currently in Triple-A Iowa.
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