Jo-Jo Reyes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Reyes with the Braves in 2008 |
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| Atlanta Braves — No. 37 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
| Born: November 20, 1984 West Covina, California |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| July 7, 2007 for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through June 6, 2008) |
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| Win-Loss | 4-5 |
| Earned run average | 5.60 |
| Strikeouts | 61 |
| Teams | |
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Joseph Albert "Jo-Jo" Reyes (born November 20, 1984 in West Covina, California) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the Atlanta Braves. Listed at 6'2", 230 lb., Reyes bats and throws left-handed. He is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 8 prospect in the Braves organization.
[edit] Professional career
Reyes was drafted by the Braves out of Riverside Polytechnic High School in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2003 MLB Draft. He spent his entire first professional season in the Gulf Coast League. In 10 starts with the Gulf Coast Braves, Reyes went 5-3 with a 2.56 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 45.0 innings pitched. He allowed just one home run all season.
With Class-A Rome in 2004, Reyes struggled most of the season, going 2-5 with a 5.33 ERA. Tommy John surgery kept him out for the end of the year and the first half of the 2005 season. He was sent back to the GCL in 2005, and after doing well received a mid-season promotion to Class-A Danville. While his strikeout total fell (27 in 43 innings), he went 3-0 with a 3.53 ERA and posted a WHIP of 0.99, but a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ended his season prematurely.
In 2006, Reyes went 8-1 with a 2.99 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 13 starts for Rome. He struck out 84 in 75.1 innings, and his performance during the first half of the season earned him a start in the All-Star Game for the Southern Division of the South Atlantic League. He also received a promotion to the Braves' Advanced-A club Myrtle Beach Pelicans. He went 4-4 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.34 WHIP.
After his 10-1 performance in 2007, Reyes has moved ahead of left-handed Matt Harrison as the Braves' top pitching prospect. He was 8-1 with a 3.56 ERA in 13 starts at Double-A Mississippi, with a 3.56 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 73-1/3 innings. He pitched even better since a promotion to Triple-A Richmond, posting a 2-0 record with 27 strikeouts and a 1.57 ERA in in 23.0 innings.
On July 7, 2007 he was promoted to the Major League ball club, starting in place of the disabled John Smoltz against David Wells and the San Diego Padres. His first earned run came in the second inning on a solo home run by Khalil Greene. In his first plate appearance the following inning, he laid down a successful sacrifice bunt to move Jarrod Saltalamacchia to third base. Reyes lasted only 3+ innings however, giving up five earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out one. He received no decision in the game. Reyes earned his first Major League win on September 18, 2007 in a 4-3 Braves' win against the Florida Marlins at Turner Field.
The Braves hoped to find a number 5 starter in Reyes. In the 10 starts he made in 2007, he was 2-2 with an 6.22 ERA. As Reyes is a touted prospect in the Braves minor leagues, these numbers prove that he was not ready for the level of competition that exists at the major league level and was promptly optioned to AAA-Richmond on August 3.
