Results tagged ‘ Santo Manzanillo ’
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers – #67 Santo Manzanillo
A year ago at this relative time I was telling you about a fireballing right-handed relief pitcher who was injured in an off-season car crash. He “sprained his throwing shoulder and also suffered multiple lacerations and contusions,” as I wrote then. It was a bit of a crapshoot as to whether the Dominican native would begin the year healthy let alone how effective he would be, and whether the injuries would be problematic all season.
The results are in, as they say, so let’s open the envelope and see how 2012 was for…
Santo Manzanillo.
Manzanillo did start the season on an active roster, that of the Brewers Double-A affiliate Huntsville Stars of the Southern League. He made 12 total appearances between the start of the season — his first appearance was on April 8th — and June 22nd. That’s two and a half months of games and only 12 appearances.
Let’s break them down and explain.
Manzanillo pitched in three games out the bullpen and then was shutdown due to lingering shoulder issues. He pitched on April 10th and then not again until May 23rd.
It seemed to work as Manzanillo struggled out the gates because he was physically hindered. When he returned in late May, he strung together six scoreless outings of his next seven. A pair of non-scoreless outings later though, and Manzanillo was shut down again after a 2 ER performance on the aforementioned June 22nd. This would mark the end of his run in Double-A in 2012.
When he came off the disabled list he went on a two-game rehab assignment with the Rookie-level Arizona Brewers club. He then was assigned to the Class-A affiliate Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, presumably to aid them in their quest for a Midwest League Championship, but also in part because he needed innings and the T’Rats were headed to the postseason for certain which meant more available innings. Manzanillo had only one bad outing, in the August finale, before finishing up the Timber Rattlers postseason with three scoreless outings.
It was the need for innings also which perpetuated Manzanillo’s stint in the Arizona Fall League in 2012. His results were lacking in the desert but the work was as important as, if not more so than, the numbers in that offense-heavy environment.
Heading into 2013 Manzanillo is a bit of a question mark. Assuming he comes to camp healthy and presumably in shape, I’d assume he’s likely to repeat the beginning of 2012 by breaking camp with Huntsville. Manzanillo remains on the 40-man roster to which he was added before the 2012 season so 2013 will be his second option year. He is still only 24-years-old (birthday was just over a month ago) and there are plenty of bullpen arms that come along in their mid-20s at their physical peaks. The Brewers don’t have to keep Manzanillo on the 25-man roster until 2015, so there’s time for him to finish his development and prove he’s put his physical issues from 2012 behind him.
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You can request to follow Santo Manzanillo on Twitter, but he still hasn’t tweeted anything: @Manzanillo37
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Miss anyone along the way? Catch up on the Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers profiles to this point:
Which Brewers Prospects Will Play for the Phoenix Desert Dogs? (Arizona Fall League Rosters Announced)
The initial rosters have been announced for the 2012 Arizona Fall League. Prospects from all over baseball are assigned to affiliates to compete as teams for the league championship but also to continue their development. Sometimes players that missed chunks of the regular season are sent so that they get more baseball played, other times top prospects are sent simply to continue their grooming and advancement.
In recent past, the Brewers prospects sent there played for the Peoria Javelinas. Things have been mixed up this year however and this year’s group of Milwaukee Brewers prospects will instead be suiting up for the Phoenix Desert Dogs this fall along with prospects from the systems of the Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Miami Marlins, and Tampa Bay Rays.
Here is a list of the players assigned from the various Brewer minor-league affiliates:
Pitchers:
- Nick Bucci – RHP – Twitter: @nickbooch - (Highest Minor League level played at in 2012: Class A-Advanced)
- Kyle Heckathorn – RHP – Twitter: @KyleHeckathorn - (Double-A)
- Johnny Hellweg – RHP – (Double-A)
- Santo Manzanillo – RHP – Twitter: @Santo_37 (Double-A)
- Jimmy Nelson – RHP – Twitter: @Jimmy_J_Nelson – (Double-A)
Despite starting this year, Heckathorn and Hellweg will pitch in relief for the Desert Dogs. Hellweg is still viewed as a starring pitching prospect by the organization, however Heckathorn will pitch in relief going forward.
Infielders:
- Hunter Morris – 1B/3B – Twitter: @HunterMorris15 – (Double-A)
- Josh Prince – SS – Twitter: @JoshPrince17 – (Double-A)
Outfielders:
- Khris Davis – (Triple-A)
- Brock Kjeldgaard – (Double-A)
***Note: Manzanillo and Kjeldgaard are on the team’s “taxi squad” which limits their availability throughout the short season.***
Over the course of the AFL season, I’ll profile each player for you. That will include looking at their 2012 regular season of affiliated ball as well as scouting reports, etc.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #67 Santo Manzanillo
The series is back after what will be its longest hiatus. That’s what happens when a pair of top prospects drafted seven months ago get invites to Spring Training and are subsequently assigned jersey numbers in the high seventies.
Today, however, we take a look at the first of a handful of players who were added to the 40-man roster this offseason.
On this Monday, 67 days away from Opening Day on April 6th in Milwaukee, Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers profiles right-handed pitching prospect Santo Manzanillo.
There are hard throwers all over the minor leagues. Many prospects can hit 95 MPH on the radar gun but not all of them can push it up to 99 like Santo Manzanillo was able to do quite frequently throughout the 2011 season.
Manzanillo has been known for a his velocity for some time but velocity alone doesn’t mean a whole lot in terms of projectable success. Hard and straight will still get crushed more often than not. His control has improved a bit and he does possess a breaking ball that keeps hitters honest.
This past season definitely saw positive strides forward for the Dominican Republic native. This off-season, however, saw both a bit of faith instilled in the righty along with a bit of bad luck befalling the closing prospect.
First the good. In advance of the Rule V Draft, Manzanillo was placed on the Brewers’ 40-man roster, thereby protecting him from exposure in that draft process. With the strides Manzanillo made in 2011, he clearly put himself in the forefront of the decision makers’ plan.
But then potential disaster struck when Manzanillo injured his right shoulder in an automobile accident. Manzanillo was hit by a truck while driving his Hummer on a highway in the Dominican Republic. He sprained the shoulder and also suffered multiple lacerations and contusions.
There is definitely a chance his injuries could impact his availability for at least a significant portion of the 2012 season. It would truly be a shame if Manzanillo’s career is derailed, although that is unlikely.
What would be nice is to see him have a chance to improve upon a season that saw the right-hander post an impressive 1.75 ERA and 62/26 K/BB ratio over 61 2/3 IP (all in relief) between High-A Brevard County and Double-A Huntsville.
High-ceiling pitching prospects that project directly to the back end of the bullpen sometimes fizzle out as they move up the ladder. After all, many bullpen spots are filled by men who can’t sustain success long enough in a given game to start. Manzanillo, however, has been almost exclusively a relief pitcher throughout his minor league career.
More definitely needs to be seen from Manzanillo to really predict where he’ll end up. Part of the problem lies in some of Manzanillo’s supporting statistics.
While he did, for example, amass a 2.21 ERA in 20.1 IP at Double-A Huntsville, it can’t be ignored that he held opponents to a BABIP of .212 all the while, as you might expect, he saw worsening marks in the K/9, BB/9 and HR/9. His FIP checked in at 4.53 as well.
Granted, 20.1 IP isn’t much of a sample size to work with but the numbers are still potentially indicative. This is exactly why seeing more of out Manzanillo was to no doubt be high on Doug Melvin’s wish list.
As with so many things in the game of baseball, however, you simply can’t predict accidents like the one that injured Manzanillo.
At this point we simply must wait for him to be medically cleared to see where he goes from where he finished 2011.
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