Royals’ prospect makes amazing bare-handed catch after the ball twice hit his glove
After earning a promotion to Triple-A Omaha in mid-June, outfielder John Rave made an immediate impact with the Storm Chasers.
Rave, who was selected by the Royals in the fifth round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Illinois State, batted .434 (16 for 53) with six doubles, three home runs and 16 RBIs in his first 15 games.
Since then, Rave has cooled off at the plate but he showed off his defensive prowess Tuesday night in the Storm Chasers’ 8-2 loss to Iowa.
The I-Cubs would have scored more runs were in not for an incredible catch by Rave in the third inning. With two on and two out, Matt Mervis hit a ball to center field. Rave ran back and got a glove on the ball as he crashed into the outfield wall.
The ball squirted out of Rave’s glove and hit him in the shoulder, then popped up in the air and hit the back of Rave’s glove. As he was falling backward, Rave snared the ball with his left hand.
This was an incredible bare-handed catch.
Omaha shared a closer look at this grab, and it is amazing.
Fans were astonished by the juggling catch.
One wrote on X (née Twitter): “AMAZING — catch, juggle, hang on!!”
Another shared this: “Best catch I’ve seen in person.”
And a fan simply wrote: “PLEASE WATCH THIS, IT WAS OUTRAGEOUS.”
