What Happened to the Anthony Ranaudo of 2009?

Whatever happened to the Anthony Ranaudo of 2009? You know — the fiery, confident, borderline cocky ace of the LSU Tiger pitching staff, and one of the projected top picks in the upcoming year’s MLB draft class. The guy with a 92 – 95 mph fastball with excellent late life and a nasty 12-to-6 curveball with great snap on its break. What happened to that version of Anthony Ranaudo?

Injuries have certainly played a role. An ability to repeat his mechanics is another factor. But the biggest problem I saw in his June 2nd start against the Pittsburgh Pirate affiliate of Altoona was a complete lack of arm speed. in addition, while he’s always had problems repeating his delivery, his mechanics are a far cry worse from what they looked like in 2009.

Ranaudo would go on to make five more starts after this Altoona start, and all but one was poor. The Red Sox shut Ranaudo down after his July 3rd start against Trenton. An MRI on his shoulder showed nothing, and apparently the team is viewing his condition as a dead arm period. He has not pitched since that July 3rd start, and it’s possible the Red Sox will simply shut him down for the rest of the season.

So Ranaudo is a mess right now. His fastball was clocking in at…

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