YORK, Pa. — A member of the York Revolution's pitching rotation has signed on to join a Major League organization, the team said Monday.
Nick Raquet, the Atlantic League Co-Pitcher of the Year, signed a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals. Raquet was the first Revolution pitcher to earn the league's Pitcher of the Year Award last season after setting a York team record with 133 strikeouts.
Raquet, who shared the award with Gastonia's Zach Mort, had four 10-strikeout performances last season. The lefthander's 13 wins were second in the league last year and tied for the fourth-highest single-season win total in team history.
He finished the season with a 3.71 earned run average in 145.2 innings of work. Raquet was the only pitcher to rank in the Atlantic League's top four pitching categories (ERA, wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched).
“He had a remarkable season,” Revs manager Rick Forney said of Raquet. “I didn’t expect that he’d throw the number of innings he did or be as dominant as he was throughout the season because he had been away from it for a while.
"I had been texting people with Major League clubs, saying if there’s an opening or a need at the Double-A or Triple-A level, bring him to spring training and let him compete for a job, because he’ll make one of those teams. He’s still young enough, he has arm speed, he was the best pitcher in MLB Partner League baseball, the best pitcher in this league for sure, by far the best left-handed pitcher in Partner League ball, and I said there’s no reason why somebody doesn’t sign him and give him a chance to compete in spring training, because he’ll beat somebody out of a job.
"I'm thrilled to see that he'll now get that opportunity.”
Raquet, 28, returned to professional baseball last season after a four-year hiatus, which he spent working in the business world, the team said.
He was a third-round draft pick by the Washington Nationals in 2017 after starring at The College of William & Mary. In his three years in the Nationals' system, he had a combined record of 23-20 with a 3.64 ERA.
