Middletown North’s Tyler Ras Selected By Cubs In Mlb First-Year Player Draft By Mike Ready

MIDDLETOWN – Middletown North’s Tyler Ras was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 33rd round of the 2018 Major League Baseball first-year draft Wednesday, making him the only Shore Conference senior to hear his name called in the 40 rounds of the draft.

The fire-balling Ras was ranked as the 197th overall prospect in MLB.com’s Top 200 in this year’s draft class but he dropped all the way down to No. 998 by the time he was selected in the 33rd round. He saw his stock tumble this spring due to uncontrollable circumstances that had nothing to do with his individual performance or his potential as a big leaguer.

Entering this season, Ras, a switch-hitting right hander, was a 2018 Rawlings Perfect Game preseason 2nd team All-American selection after being named a 3rd team Perfect Game underclassman All-American last season as a junior along with first team All-Shore honors after hitting .419 at the plate and going 3-2 with a 2.80 ERA and 1.10 WHIP on the mound.

In August 2016, Ras verbally committed to the University of Alabama to continue his academic and athletic career. He has been a firm commit to the Crimson Tide for two years now and that likely played a role in his draft-day slide, as well monetary considerations.

So if he can’t come to terms with the Cubs on a signing bonus – which is doubtful – he’ll be on the next plane to Tuscaloosa, Alabama following graduation.

On Friday, Middletown North head coach Justin Nathanson confirmed Ras’ plan to enroll with the Crimson Tide. “When I did talk to Tyler on the third day of the draft I asked him what his plans were and he said, ‘The Cubs were drafting him that day, but he was going to Alabama no matter what.’ So he’s definitely going to Alabama.”

However, once Ras enrolls at Alabama he won’t be eligible for the MLB draft until after his junior year or when he turns 21, whichever comes first. So that was not an easy decision to make with so much at stake.

This past season Ras was cursed by a total lack of run support that led to a 0-5 record on the mound while still brandishing an arsenal that attracted the attention of multiple D-1 colleges and MLB talent evaluators in the first place.

“Tyler’s been pretty good as far as having good composure on the mound whether things are going good or bad,” Nathanson said. “He has that no emotion-type approach to him which is good for pitchers to have. He was actually pretty good with the adversity when we weren’t scoring runs for him.”

Despite his dismal won-loss record, Ras was again a stud on the mound this season posting numbers that easily eclipsed last season’s totals.  In 40 1/3 innings pitched he struck out 68 batters with only 15 walks while posting a 1.56 ERA and a WHIP just under 1.00.

He possesses a steady fastball in the low 90’s range but he regularly touches 94 on the radar guns.

“Tyler had very good numbers aside from his record and of course that was due to his lack of run support,” Nathanson said. “He had four or five pitches this year and had much better control of his off-speed stuff where last year he was primarily a fastball, changeup pitcher. This year he added his slider which he worked on last summer and had a different changeup as well. He had a lot going on this year on the mound and a much better control of it.”

In Ras’ 40-plus innings, Middletown North, which was a top 5 preseason pick only to finish a disappointing 7-14, scored a total of four runs with him on the mound and three of those runs came against a 2-18 Donovan Catholic team. So, putting the Donovan Catholic game aside, Ras was supported with only one run in all his other appearances.

“As far as his run support goes I don’t know if we felt pressure when he pitched,” Nathanson said. “I’m not sure if that’s why we didn’t score runs for him, but like I said he handled that very well and didn’t let it affect him on the mound. Even when he got men on base he helped himself out by coming up with a big strikeout. It showed because his numbers were very good and his walks were way down.”

Backing up his status as an all-around athlete, when Ras is not on the mound he’s a standout shortstop and centerfielder. He posted a .390/.520/.559 slash line with a 1.079 OPS that included six doubles, two triples, 13 RBI and seven stolen bases.  

“Tyler did tell me he’s going there (Alabama) to be a two-way (player),” Nathanson said. “But pitching is definitely going to be the primary focus when he gets there. He’s very projectable because of his frame, 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, and he’s still skinny with a lot of room to grow. I think they’re probably foreseeing him topping out at 97-98 or better so maybe he’s looking at the first or second round in a few years.”

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