PG Draft Spotlight: Josiah Ragsdale

Isaiah Burrows

Photo: Josiah Ragsdale (Boston College Athletics)

Josiah Ragsdale

Position: OF
Height: 6’0
Weight: 180
Bats/Throws: L/L
Age: 21.1
College: Boston College

Frame/Setup

Ragsdale is a name to get familiar with in the draft cycle with good batted ball data along with a blend of speed and contact. The frame fits the mold of a prototypical leadoff type with a good bit of leanness to a compact, smaller frame. It doesn’t jump off the screen due to the height, but he more than holds his own physically. Ragsdale has the makings of a polished hit tool with his easy, short closed stance and swing decisions. It’s a no stride load with an innate ability to stay around the baseball, coiling into his back hip and staying pretty closed in the box. He is down to it and long through it showing hand speed with an ability to leverage his backside. The parts are simple and he slows himself down in the box, making for a high end bat-to-ball profile.

Tools

Ragsdale’s speed and contact can finish with some of the best in the class even at a non Power 5 school. His hit tool and zone awareness plays to both sides with an ability to hit in-zone fastballs and spin away. He makes contact to all parts, rarely chases and rocked a sub-20 percent strikeout rate at Iona last year. He feasted on 88-92 mph fastballs last year with an 89 percent in-zone contact rate. He has hand speed and all-fields ability with budding power that showed out as well with an enticing .261 ISO last season as well. The impact is mostly gap to gap, but showing some improved pop in a higher touted conference at BC can really bode well for the profile. Ragsdale is a near 70-grade runner and immediate stolen base threat who can play an average defense at all three outfield spots. He best fits the mold in center field where his speed and range show can make the most of the athlete he is covering gaps. A move over to left long term can also be in play with his fringe-average arm. Regardless, the tools are present and Ragsdale has a chance to carry it over to Boston College. He has an everyday value player upside.

“The Buzz”

Ragsdale set single-season records at Iona with 74 hits and finished fourth in NCAA in triples. The move to Boston College will open him up to more mid-90s velocity, which he did not face much over his two seasons at Iona. The numbers from his stint on the Cape this summer bode well to his ability to get on base (18-18 K:BB) but he didn’t show near the power with wood that he did at Iona. The raw power numbers bode well and give a hint at more down the line, but it remains to be seen how it plays in a new environment at Boston College. If that offensive performance combined with the speed and defense carries over, this has the makings of a quality Day 2 pick.

Summation

We are bullish on Ragsdale and currently have him slotted at 103 overall in our Top 300 with a big upward arrow going forward. The athlete combined with the ability to make high end in-zone contact really stands out and the power made big steps forward at points. He has real speed and contact as carrying tools that can make an immediate impact at Boston College this year. The overall impact will need to show if our projection on him holds true, but the tools across the board and batted ball ability makes him a name to know.

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