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2010 Top 50 Prospects: #20, Ronald Uviedo
See Ronald Uviedo in action in the Video Recap section

Uviedo made the jump to the United States the following year, splitting time between State College, Hickory, and Lynchburg, with a 4.41 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched as a closer. His ratios were much better than his ERA, with a combined 10.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, but struggling with a 1.8 HR/9.

Uviedo’s success in 2008 between Hickory and Lynchburg put him on the radar in the Pirates’ system, and his 2009 success in the rotation only helped to move him up the prospect lists, with the potential to be more than a relief pitching prospect.

Uviedo throws in the 91-93 MPH range, and touches 95 MPH with his fastball. He’s 6′ 1″, and has a thin frame at 160 pounds. He gets good movement on his fastball, and also throws a good hard slider. The downside to the slider is that it puts a lot of torque on his arm. He was working on developing a changeup in 2008, and used that a lot in 2009. The changeup could have been a big reason why Uviedo saw his groundball rate jump from below-average to slightly above average in just one year. That’s big for Uviedo, as it cuts down on his major struggling point prior to 2009: home runs.

In the playoffs, Uviedo served as the closer for the Hillcats, and provided the mentality that you want from your closer. He was efficient, worked at his own pace, and didn’t get rattled by any situation. He also showed a short memory, struggling against Wilmington by taking the loss with a two run homer, then coming back two days later with a perfect 1.1 inning save.

<p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><br /> Report Created on <a href=”http://bbref.com/”>Baseball-Reference.com</a><br /> </p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>

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2009: #18
2010: #20