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David Ledbetter Scouting Report: Texas Ranger minor league pitcher David Ledbetter ranked #29 on the LSB Community Prospect Rankings.
In the days leading up to Opening Day, I'm going to offer write-ups on the 31 players who made the Rangers' LSB Community Prospect Rankings Top 31. I've done this the last couple of years, and I don't want to re-invent the wheel, so some of this will be a repeat of what I've written before, particularly regarding draft history or performance pre-2013. Also, this is not based on my personal observations -- I'm not a scout, and haven't seen most of these guys. I'm just aggregating the numbers and what others say about these players.
So, with that out of the way, let's take a look at David Ledbetter...
David Ledbetter is a 5'11", 188 lb. righthanded pitcher who was drafted by the Rangers in the 3rd round of the 2013 draft out of Cedarville University in Ohio. The Rangers grabbed his twin brother, Ryan Ledbetter, in the 19th round of the draft. The Ledbetters were the first two players ever selected in the MLB Draft from Cedarville, per Baseball America. BA ranked David Ledbetter as the #210 prospect in the country, praising his mechanics, athleticism, low-90s sinker, and "deep repertoire."
Ledbetter was assigned to the short-season A Northwest League, and pitched well for the Spokane Indians, putting up a 2.93 ERA in 58.1 innings, striking out 51 and walking 19. Ledbetter was impressive enough for BA to name him their #11 prospect in the Northwest League after the season, praising his ability to throw three pitches -- fastball, curve and change -- for strikes. Ledbetter has gotten a fair amount of buzz since the season ended, as well, as seems to be someone who could shoot up the rankings next season.
Ledbetter has a starter's repertoire, with a fastball, curve and change, and profiles as a potential starter, although his lack of size is such that there may be concerns about whether he will be able to have the stamina to be a starter long-term. Ledbetter will probably start the season in either low-A Hickory or high-A Myrtle Beach, but either way, he's someone who has the potential to be a relatively quick mover. Ledbetter doesn't have a huge ceiling, but if it all breaks right, he could be a nice mid-rotation starter someday.
