By John Nolan
Assistant Director of Scouting

2014 Top Prospect Games participant and Bishop O’Connell High School two-way player Rafi Vazquez has verbally committed to attend Coastal Carolina University in the fall of 2016. Vazquez is the third member of the Knight’s talented 2016 class to commit to a Division I school, joining outfielder Myles Hudzick (Duke) and infielder Patrick Ryan (William & Mary). The Knights are having a good spring, currently sitting at 10-6 overall and they are in the mix for the WCAC Championship.

Vazquez stands 6-foot-2 and has an athletic frame. On the mound, he throws from a low three-quarters slot and has a short, loose arm action that generates easy velocity. His mechanics are smooth and he does a good job of staying on line throughout his delivery. Vazquez’s fastball has heavy run to it and sat 85-87, touching 88 at the Top Prospect Games in November. He also threw an outstanding slider with sharp, late break that came in at 75-78. Vazquez’s change-up had late fade and ran 74-77. He had very good command of the fastball and slider to both sides of the plate and kept his change-up down.

At the plate, Vazquez hits from the left side and has a balanced stance with high hands. He has a short and compact load back, a slight hitch, an inward turn of the knee, and a very short stride. He has leverage in his swing that generates power and backspin and he has a gap-to-gap approach. He has the raw power to mishit a baseball and still hit it out of the ballpark. In November, he had an exit velocity of 86 mph off of the tee. In the field, Vazquez has feel around first base. He has average lateral movement and hands and a slightly above average arm.

When he arrives at Coastal, Vazquez should immediately be able to help the Chanticleers as an impact reliever and a powerful left-handed bat, either at first base or off of the bench. Vazquez has the potential to develop into a middle of the line-up bat who hits with power to all fields who can jump on the mound and close a game out. If his feel for his change-up improves, he could even develop into a weekend starter on the mound. Vazquez’s bat and power potential from the left side make him an interesting prospect.

Congratulations Rafi!