Propsects Plus: Charleston's Rafael DePaula

Name: Rafael DePaula
Position: starting pitcher
Team: Charleston RiverDogs
Prospect Status: 10th ranked prospects in Yankees organization
Friday Stats vs. Lakewood: 5 innings, 3 hits, zero earned, 4 walks, 7 strikeouts.

Positives: Threw a nice heavy ball, sounded like he broke a couple of bats during his stint in the game. DePaula sat between 88 and 87 most of the games, according to the stadium guns (which could be a couple of mphs slow). He seemed to top out around 91. He has a plus curve ball but does not use at much because his other stuff is so good. So far this season he has DePaula has whiffed 46 in 27.1 innings.

Negatives: Has a checkered pass including a year long suspension by Major League Baseball for using different versions of his name and age. He is your classic boom bust type of prospect. Has as much ceiling as any other prospect in the system but also is the biggest X-Factor