Arodys Vizcaíno

Arodys Vizcaíno

Vizcaíno with the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves – No. 38
Pitcher
Born: (1990-11-13) November 13, 1990
Yaguate, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 10, 2011, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Win–loss record 4–2
Earned run average 2.89
Strikeouts 58
Saves 9
Teams

Arodys Vizcaíno (born November 13, 1990) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs.

Originally signed by the New York Yankees as an international free agent in 2007, Vizcaíno was traded to the Atlanta Braves after the 2009 season, and to the Cubs during the 2012 season. He made his MLB debut on August 10, 2011. Vizcaíno bats and throws right-handed. He was traded to the Braves for Tommy La Stella on November 16, 2014.

Professional career

New York Yankees (2007–09)

Vizcaíno signed with the New York Yankees as an international free agent on July 2, 2007. He made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Yankees of the Gulf Coast League in 2008, pitching to a 3-2 win–loss record, 3.68 earned run average (ERA), with 48 strikeouts and 13 walks in 44 innings pitched over twelve games. Vizcaíno pitched for the Single-A Short Season Staten Island Yankees of the New York–Penn League in 2009, going 2-4 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 games, all starts, and striking out 52 in 42 1⁄3 innings.[1] After the 2009 season, Baseball America ranked Vizcaíno as the Yankees' third best prospect, rating his curveball as the best in the Yankees' organization, and projecting him to be the Yankees' fourth starter in their 2013 rotation.[2]

Atlanta Braves (2009–12)

Vizcaíno was traded from the Yankees to the Atlanta Braves with Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn, and $500,000 in exchange for Javier Vázquez and Boone Logan on December 23, 2009.[1] Baseball America rated him the 69th best prospect in baseball before the regular season began. The Braves assigned Vizcaíno to the Single-A Rome Braves of the South Atlantic League. There, he went 9-3 with a 2.34 ERA in twelve starts, striking out 66 in 69 1⁄3 innings. They promoted him to the Single-A Advanced Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League, where he had a 4.63 ERA in three starts before suffering a right elbow strain that landed him on the disabled list.[3] An examination discovered a partially torn right elbow ligament.[4] He did not pitch for the rest of the season, ending with a 2.74 ERA overall.[5] Baseball America rated Vizcaino as the Braves' seventh best prospect after the season.[6]

Before the 2011 season, Baseball America rated Vizcaíno the 93rd best prospect in baseball. In 2011, Vizcaíno began the season with the Single-A Advanced Lynchburg Hillcats of the Carolina League, but was promoted to the Double-A Mississippi Braves of the Southern League and Triple-A Gwinnett Braves of the International League later that season. Across the minors, he went 5-5 with a 3.06 ERA, 100 strikeouts and 28 walks in 97 innings across three levels.[7]

Vizcaíno was called up to the majors for the first time on August 10, 2011.[8] He made his MLB debut that day, pitching in relief, walking two batters and hitting another in the ninth inning.[9] Vizcaíno earned his first MLB win in the Braves' 2-1 extra-inning victory over the San Francisco Giants on August 16.[10] In seventeen games with the Atlanta Braves, Vizcaíno had a 1-1 record, 4.67 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 17 1⁄3 innings. After the 2011 season, Baseball America rated Vizcaino as the Braves' second best prospect, after only Julio Teheran.[11] On March 20, 2012, Vizcaino underwent Tommy John surgery causing him to miss the rest of the 2012 season.[12]

Chicago Cubs (2012–14)

On July 30, 2012, Vizcaíno was traded along with right-handed pitcher Jaye Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for left-handed pitcher Paul Maholm and outfielder Reed Johnson.[13][14] Vizcaino started the 2013 season on the 60-day disabled list still recovering from the Tommy John surgery he previously had and was expected to return after the All-Star break. However, Vizcaino required arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in May, and required the remainder of the 2013 season to rehabilitate.[15][16] He returned in 2014 and was called up to the majors in September, when rosters expanded.

Second stint with Atlanta Braves (2014–present)

On November 16, 2014, the Cubs traded Vizcaíno and three international signing bonus slots to the Braves for Tommy La Stella and an international signing bonus slot.[17][18] On March 30, 2015, Vizcaino was optioned to Gwinnett Braves of the International League.[19] He was suspended for the first eighty games of the 2015 minor league season after testing positive for Stanozolol in April.[20]

Following the return from his suspension, Vizcaíno joined the struggling Braves bullpen.[21] After the season-ending injury to Jason Grilli and the trade of Jim Johnson, Vizcaíno assumed the role of closing pitcher.[22] On August 6, 2015, he recorded his first save against the Miami Marlins.[23] Vizcaíno was eligible for arbitration for the first time following the 2015 season. He agreed to a one-year contract worth $897,500 on January 15, 2016, before hearings were slated to begin.[24]

Scouting profile

Vizcaíno's fastball has been recorded as fast as 101 miles per hour (163 km/h).[7]

References

  1. 1 2 "Braves get Cabrera, Dunn, cash". Sports.espn.go.com. December 23, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  2. ↑ Manuel, John (December 16, 2009). "New York Yankees top 10 prospects". Baseballamerica.com. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  3. ↑ Wild, Danny (June 30, 2010). "Braves prospect Vizcaino shut down | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Milb.com. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Jurrjens Returns, Braves Beat Nationals 4-1". Fox News. April 7, 2010. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  5. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (October 23, 2010). "Yankees Are More Than One Deal From the Series". The New York Times. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  6. ↑ Ballew, Bill (December 15, 2010). "Prospects: Rankings: Organization Top 10 Prospects: Atlanta Braves Top 10 Prospects". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  7. 1 2 O'Brien, David (August 10, 2011). "Braves release Proctor, call up 20-year-old flamethrower". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  8. ↑ Bowman, Mark (August 10, 2011). "Braves call up Vizcaino, part ways with Proctor". Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  9. ↑ O'Brien, David (August 11, 2011). "Uggla pushes streak to 31 games as Braves sweep Marlins". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  10. ↑ O'Brien, David (August 17, 2011). "Prado hit gives Braves another walk-off win over Giants". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  11. ↑ Ballew, Bill (October 31, 2011). "Prospects: Rankings: Organization Top 10 Prospects: 2012 Atlanta Braves Top 10 Prospects". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  12. ↑ Bowman, Mark (March 20, 2012). "Vizcaino to miss '12 after Tommy John surgery". MLB.com. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  13. ↑ Nicholson-Smith, Ben (July 30, 2012). "Braves To Acquire Reed Johnson, Paul Maholm".
  14. ↑ Quinn Roberts (July 30, 2012). "Braves acquire Maholm, Johnson from Cubs".
  15. ↑ Sullivan, Paul (May 28, 2013). "Cubs' Vizcaino undergoes arthroscopic surgery on elbow". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  16. ↑ Silva, Drew (May 28, 2013). "Arodys Vizcaino gets more surgery, done for season". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  17. ↑ Snyder, Matt (November 16, 2014). "Braves trade Tommy La Stella to Cubs for Arodys Vizcaino". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  18. ↑ Gonzales, Mark (November 16, 2014). "Cubs acquire infielder Tommy La Stella from Atlanta". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Braves demote Vizcaino, Kohn". ESPN.com. March 30, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  20. ↑ Bowman, Mark (April 2, 2015). "Reliever Vizcaino suspended for 80 games". MLB.com. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Arodys Vizcaino returns from suspension as Atlanta Braves overhaul back end of bullpen". Alabama Media Group. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  22. ↑ Bowman, Mark. "Vizcaino ready to be next Braves closer". MLB.com. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Perez's single in 8th lifts Braves past Marlins 9-8". Macon Telegraph. Associated Press. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  24. ↑ Bowman, Mark (January 15, 2016). "Braves reach agreement with reliever Vizcaino". MLB.com. Retrieved January 17, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, January 17, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.