DRB Prospect Review: #7 Yoniel Curet

Two elite pitches but poor command encapsulate Curet

Over the offseason, the Draybay community takes part in an exercise in which we compile a list of 30 prospects in the Rays system based on popular vote.

Now that the 2024 season has concluded, we can look back at these rankings and see how each individual player performed.

Reminder, this is a review of the prospects ranked heading into the 2024 season. This is not an updated ranking. Draysbay will begin the voting for the 2025 community top prospects later this offseason.

We have already covered the following:

• #30. Erick Lara.
• #29. Kenny Piper
• #28. Tanner Murray
• #27. Jacob Lopez
• #26. Marcus Johnson
• #25. Cole Wilcox
• #24. Dru Baker
• #23. Trevor Martin
• #22. Joe Rock
• #21. Ian Seymour
• #20. Tre’ Morgan
• #19. Brailer Guerrero
• #18. Jose Urbina
• #17. Mason Auer
• #16. Adrian Santana
• #15. Chandler Simpson
• #14. Osleivis Basabe
• #13. Mason Montgomery
• #12. Austin Shenton
• #11. Colton Ledbetter
• #10. Santiago Suarez
• #9. Dominic Keegan
• #8. Jonny DeLuca

We resume the reviews at #7.

7. Yoniel Curet

Before the Season

7. Yoniel Curet, RHP

21 | 6’ 2” | 190

A | 2.46 ERA, 80.1 IP (20 G, 17 GS) 34.4 K%, 16.7 BB%

A+ | 4.56 ERA, 23.2 IP (6 G, 5 GS) 30.3 K%, 17.4 BB%

Added to the 40-man roster this off-season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, the 2019 international signee Curet (pronounced coo-rhett, with a rolled-R) is a hard throwing righty with enough stuff to give a front of the rotation projection. His fastball already hits 98 and has added carry as Curet has added weight, and his hard slider is considered major league. He’ll need a third pitch that’s not a varied fastball grip, and a bit more control to meet expectations, but he’s objectively the best arm in the system with rookie eligibility.

How it Went

Curet has perhaps the best arsenal in the system with his fastball and curveball both being considered elite. However, his command is holding him back and may eventually lead to Curet being pushed from the starting rotation into a bullpen role. If that happens, Curet could move quickly to the Rays active roster. However, Curet spent the entire 2024 season in a starting rotation. Among 61 pitchers with at least 90 IP in High-A, Curet had the 3rd highest K% & 4th highest whiff%, but also the 8th highest BB%. A late season promotion to Double-A, saw Curet dominate the more advanced competition as he improved in most every statistical category during his brief stint.

Final 2024 Statline

A+: 3.28 ERA | 3.80 FIP | 30.3 K% | 12.2 BB% | .198 AVG | 13.8 WHIFF% | 93 ¹⁄₃ IP
AA: 1.75 ERA | 3.58 FIP | 35.9 K% | 10.7 BB% | .180 AVG | 16.9 WHIFF% | 25 ²⁄₃ IP