Ramsey David is no stranger to the big moment and the road less traveled.
On May 28, David was pitching for the Southeastern University Fire in the NAIA World Series. Tuesday, David walked off the mound for the final time as a member of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox following a resilient performance. It was an outing fitting for the right-hander who’s spent the last four seasons at three different junior college programs.
Familiar with doing things the hard way, David danced around danger during three of his four innings of work. He stranded five Bourne base runners including a bases loaded situation in the first and a spot with runners on second and third in the fourth before he struck out Landyn Vidourek (Cincinnati) to end his Cape League career with his 14th punchout of the summer.
David recorded his first scoreless start on the Cape with five strikeouts over four innings, which brought his season ERA down to 1.50. Tuesday’s outing reminded the rows of MLB scouts sitting behind home plate why he was ranked as a top-200 prospect for the 2019 MLB Draft and why he has the potential to hear his name called in just under two weeks.
David has a dynamic arsenal of pitches with a fastball that touched 99 mph in his second start against Brewster, a sweeping slider that can generate consistent swing-and-miss and a changeup that alters hitters’ timing. It’s a cohort of pitches that’s shown scouts how an NAIA talent can dominate the best Division I has to offer.
David dominated the Georgia ranks out of Buford High School and soared to national attention with his game-changing fastball. David was ranked the 180th overall high school prospect by Perfect Game in 2019 and the 157th best prospect for the 2019 Draft by Baseball America.
Loyal to his commitment to Auburn, David did not sign after being taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 35th round of the 2019 MLB Draft and joined future big league arm Bailey Horn and former first-round pick Tanner Burns during the COVID-shortened season.
His decision to leave Auburn following his freshman season sparked stays at a trio of junior colleges: Gordon State College in Georgia, Northwest Florida State College and Southeastern University in Florida. During his journey, the 23-year-old said he’s been challenged in every way imaginable but learned how to become a better pitcher in the process.
“I've definitely had to teach myself a lot of things,” David said. “Being in JUCO, not really with great pitching coaches, I've had to teach myself how to slow down, how to be efficient and get ahead early in counts.”
David has embraced the difficult road which led him to Y-D and opportunities to pitch against Division I All-Americans. The 2024 All-Sun Conference First Team selection dominated with the Fire this spring and worked a 2.79 ERA with 87 strikeouts which helped guide Southeastern to the No. 1 overall seed in the NAIA World Series.
The Fire went 52-8 and won their fourth consecutive Sun Conference championship with David leading the way. Knowing his time in college was nearing its end, David looked to the Cape as a way to showcase his talents and perform in an elite environment. He lived up to his top-prospect billing by allowing just two runs in 12 innings across three starts.
The level of competition never feared David, who went toe-to-toe and attacked Power Five hitters with that exact mindset. David said he pitches with the mentality that baseball is a “kids' game” and the belief that he belongs on this signature stage.
“Good players are good players,” David said. “NAIA, DI, DII, they're all good players. A good player is gonna be a good player, so I just competed and tried to be one of those good players.”
David departs the Red Sox third on the team in strikeouts and gave head coach Scott Pickler valuable innings during his three outings. Despite the narrow 3-2 loss to Bourne on Tuesday, David left his mark in Y-D’s 10-4 start as a pivotal piece with an unbreakable passion for his ultimate goal of playing in the Major Leagues one day.
Opposing hitters posted a lowly .209 batting average against David, who will shift his focus to the 2024 MLB Draft and potentially putting the ink to paper on a professional contract, signifying the end to a road less traveled.
“I've grinded my butt off,” David said. “I hope I'm fortunate enough for somebody to call my name.”
Photo by Sophie Solarino
