Jorge Julio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Florida Marlins — No. 50 | |
| Relief Pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
|---|---|
| April 26, 2001 for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
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| Win-loss | 13-28 |
| Saves | 99 |
| ERA | 4.20 |
| SO | 345 |
| Former teams | |
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Jorge Julio born Jorge Dandys Julio Tapia (March 3, 1979 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who plays for the Florida Marlins. He previously played for the Baltimore Orioles from 2001-2005, New York Mets in 2006 and the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2006-2007. He bats and throws right-handed.
Julio depends primarily on his fastball, which he throws at least 75 % of the time. He throws both his four-seam and two-seam fastball in the 95-99 MPH range, and has been known to hit triple digits from time to time. He also has a downward-breaking slider, which comes in at between 86-90 MPH. He occasionally throws a changeup as well.
Julio's first full-length season was in 2002. He went 5-6, posting a 1.99 ERA with 25 saves and 55 strikeouts. He finished 3rd in the American League Rookie of the Year voting with 14 voting points (1 second place votes, 11 third place votes). However, he has been unable to reproduce the numbers from his rookie season and lost his job as the Orioles' closer to B.J. Ryan at the end of 2004. Julio began 2005 as the set-up man behind Ryan; during the month of April, he allowed just 1 earned run in 13 2/3 innings pitched. However, his numbers would fall off from there. He finished the season 3-5 with a 5.90 ERA in 67 appearances.
On January 21, 2006, Julio was dealt to the Mets along with pitching prospect John Maine in exchange for Kris Benson. The Mets then traded Julio on May 24, 2006 to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. He replaced Jose Valverde as a closer and saved 15 games for the Diamondbacks. On September 3, 2006, Valverde replaced Julio as closer . On March 26, 2007, Julio was traded to the Florida Marlins for Yusmeiro Petit.
