Greeneville Astros: Ricardo Batista

Ricardo Batista
How did he get here?: Undrafted free agent, signed prior to 2008 season
Stats: 6'1", 170 lbs, Throws: Left
Age as of April 1, 2011: 19
Birthplace/Hometown: San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Men of the Match: 1

2010 Overview

IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB	BAA	K/9	BB/9
48.2	6.29/1.79	35:23	.318	6.5	4.3

Career (2008-09)

Year	IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB	HR/9	K/9	BB/9
2008	25.2	8.06/2.10	20:24	0.4	7.0	8.4
2009	34.2	5.97/1.85	22:18	0.3	5.7	4.7

What happened?

Batista has moved up a level in each of his three seasons in the Astros organizations, pitching in the DSL in 2008, the GCL in 2009, and making his way to Greeneville in 2010, where he...struggled.

Batista threw a (to-this-point) career-high in IPs this season, and his overall numbers actually improved across the board, save for his ERA. He was 0-5 in 12 starts, and after his 0-4 2009 season, it's now been since 2008 that Batista has won a game.

What went right?

Throwing at lefties. He recorded 35 outs against lefties, holding them to a 1.54 ERA, with 14 hits and two earned runs. Lefties also hit .298 - 27 points lower than against righties.

July. In six starts, he allowed 31 hits in 27IP.

August. In five August starts, Alaniz allowed 9ER - 4ER in one start against Johnson City - and posted a 1.09 WHIP. He also only walked three batters in 28.1 August IP.

Limiting damage via the long ball. Of the five homers Batista allowed, four of them came with the bases empty.

What went wrong?

Walks. Despite the BB/9 rate coming down from 4.7 to 4.3, that's still high.

Righties. 19 of the 23 batters he walked were RHBs, and he allowed 50H/32ER in 37IP against RHBs for a 7.78 ERA/1.86 WHIP.

Groundballs. Or lack thereof. Last year we said that "Batista doesn't get many groundballs, for more flyouts than groundouts, but he keeps the ball in the park." That wasn't necessarily the case this season. But we should still remember that Batista was 18 this season.

August 9. We've said this quite a few times, but we're dealing with a small sample size. So when he went out and gave up 6H/6ER, 1K:2BB in 0.2IP against Elizabethton, that's going to skew the numbers.

Appy Astros says:
I expect him to be back in Greeneville next year. Even though the numbers aren't great, they were improved from his time in the GCL. Control must continue to improve.

Once again - and it seems like this is a ritual - we agree with Appy Astros. If he's going to be a flyball pitcher, he needs to limit those walks, so that when a hitter gets a hold of one, the game doesn't crater around him.

Eddie's Farm: July 6

Round Rock

The Express scored the last three runs of the game, but it just wasn't enough in a 5-4 loss to Memphis. Shane Loux threw 6.1IP, 10H/5ER, 4K:1BB to drop to 2-6 on the year. Roy Corcoran allowed a hit in 1.2IP, and Gary Majewski threw a scoreless inning. Collin DeLome and German Duran had two hits each (with DeLome also getting an RBI and stolen base. And was also caught stealing.) Freshly-activated Edwin Maysonet and Brian Bogusevic provided your only two extra-base hits.

Man of the Match: Collin DeLome.

Corpus

Let's get some Big Picture here. The last time the Hooks won was June 21. That's a 12-game losing streak, after Jordan Lyles got rocked in a 7-1 loss to NW Arkansas. Lyles lasted 3.1IP, 8H/6ER, 1K:6BB, throwing 43 of his 82 pitches for strikes. Fernando Abad allowed 5H/1ER, 2K:0BB, and Danny Meszaros struck out four of the six batters he faced in two perfect IPs. Jack Shuck and Jhon Florentino both had two hits, Koby Clemens was 1x2 with a double and two walks, and Marcos Cabral provided the only RBI. Jimmy Van Ostrand and David Cook provided outfield assists.

Man of the Match: Koby Clemens

Lancaster

Despite a 5-4 lead going into the 8th, the JetHawks couldn't close, and ended up 8-6 to Inland Empire. (Note: You can read Zach Levine's notes on Lancaster here). Ross Seaton threw 5.1IP, 7H/4R (3ER), 8K:1BB. Mike Modica and Kyle Godfrey each allowed an earned run, and Brian Wabick gave up two runs for the loss. Lee Cruz was 3x4 with 2HR and 5RBI, while Freddy Parejo was 2x4. Andy Simunic drew three walks.

Man of the Match: Lee Cruz

Lexington

The Legends got four runs in the 7th, but being down 7-1 at that point isn't very helpful, and the Legends lose 9-5 to Augusta. Tanner Bushue allowed 5H/6ER, 3K:3BB in 4.1IP. Wander Alvino, Colton Pitkin, and Kirk Clark allowed 9H/3R (2ER), 4K:2BB in 4.2IP. Bushue and Alvino also threw wild pitches. Grant Hogue was 3x4 with a walk, Jose Altuve, Jonathan Meyer, and Brian Kemp each got two hits, Jordan Comadena hit a solo homer, and Jake Goebbert was 1x4 with a sac fly and 4RBI.

Man of the Match: Grant Hogue

Tri-City

Leadoff walks will kill you. Two consecutive walks to start the 11th inning will end the game, and the ValleyCats lose 5-4 to Batavia. Joan Belliard walked those batters, and Jorge De Leon gave up the hit leading to the game-winning run. Tom Shirley threw 4IP, 2H/1R (0ER), 6K:1BB - and has yet to allow an earned run. Adam Champion allowed 2ER in 1.1IP, Mike Ness allowed an unearned run, Brandt Walker walked two of the four batters he faced, and then Belliard and De Leon came in to "close it out." Tri-City also committed four errors: two from Oscar Figueroa, one each from Buck Afenir and Jorge De Leon. Ben Orloff, Enrique Hernandez, and Daniel Adamson had two hits each in the top three spots in the lineup, with Hernandez, Adamson, Tyler Burnett, and Figueroa providing RBIs.

Man of the Match: Daniel Adamson - 2x5, RBI, SB

Greeneville

And Greeneville has their own six-game losing streak going, after a 6-2 loss to Kingsport. Ricardo Batista allowed 5H/2R (1ER), 3K:0BB in 5IP. Brian Streilein had a rough 6th inning, allowing four hits and a walk for four earned runs. Travis Smink threw two scoreless innings, while Jamaine Cotton threw a perfect 9th. Chris Wallace was 2x4 with a double and an RBI, with Jonathan Merritt, Ricardo Garcia, and Jhonny Medrano providing the other three hits. 6-9 in the lineup (Nash, Nidiffer, Williams, and Lane) were a combined 0x14, 5K:1BB.

Man of the Match: Ricardo Batista.

GCL Astros - Ricardo Batista

Lefty Ricardo Batista just finished up his second season in the Astros' organization, spending 2008 in the Dominican Summer League, and posting better numbers. Batista was the third and final GCL Astro to appear in 6+ games in which every appearance was a start.

Ricardo Batista
How did he get here?: Signed contract prior to 2008 season
Stats: 6'1", 170 lbs, Throws: Left
Age as of April 1, 2010: 18

On the season: 0-4, 5.97 ERA/1.85 WHIP, 22K:18BB, .326 against, 1HR

Splits:
vs. LHB (6IP): 6.00 ERA/2.17 WHIP, 8K:6BB, .292 BAA, 0HR
vs. RHB (28.2IP): 5.97 ERA/1.78 WHIP, 14K:12BB, .333 BAA, 1HR

Home (20.2IP): 4.79 ERA/1.74 WHIP, 14K:10BB, .313 BAA, 0HR
Away (14IP): 7.71 ERA/2.00 WHIP, 8K:8BB, .345 BAA, 1HR

Bases Empty (14.1IP): 2.16 WHIP, 11K:12BB, .306 BAA
Runners on (20.1IP): 1.62 WHIP, 11K:6BB, .342 BAA, 1HR
w/RISP (14): 1.36 WHIP, 7K:6BB, .265 BAA

June (1 start, 4IP): 4.50 ERA/1.25 WHIP, 3K:1BB
July (6 starts, 24.2IP): 6.20 ERA/1.82 WHIP, 17K:12BB
August (2 starts, 6IP): 6.00 ERA/2.33 WHIP, 2K:5BB

K/9 Rate: 5.7
BB/9 Rate: 4.7
Groundout/Flyout Rate: 0.73
K:BB Ratio: 1.22

Batista actually calmed those walks down, cutting his BB/9 from 8.4 in 2008 to 4.7 in 2009. This, of course, is still too high. Batista doesn't get many groundballs, airing it out for more flyouts to groundouts, but he keeps the ball in the park - only giving up one homer all season long. This wasn't a great showing, but it's an improvement over 2008. And remember - he was only 17 this year.

Eddie's Farm: August 5

Round Rock
Got the piss kicked out of them 8-0 at the hands of the Tacoma Rainiers. Like the Astros, the Express drew no walks, and do much in the way of hitting, either. Abercrombie and Bogusevic each had two hits with Chris Johnson and Yordany providing the other two. Yorman Bazardo threw 5IP, 5H/5ER, 4K:3BB. Josh Muecke gave up 2ER in 2IP.

Corpus
Andy Van Hekken got his sixth win for the Hooks with a 5-2win. Drew Locke was 4x5 and got his 100th RBI of the season; Nick Moresi (who is human and he wants to be loved...just like everybody else) was 3x4 with an RBI, while Jhon Florentino provided a two-run triple. Wladimir Sutil and a rehabbing Darin Erstad were both 2x5. AVH threw 7IP, 5H/1ER, 2K:3BB, while C-Lo threw 1IP, 1H/1ER and Evan Englebrook closed it out with a scoreless 9th.

Lancaster
By the end of the 2nd, Lancaster had a 13-4 lead, and closed it out with an 18-5 win. Obviously, that means a lot of hits. Jack Shuck was 5x6 with 2RBI, Brandon Barnes was 4x4 with 3RBI. Ebert Rosario hit his 1st homer for Lancaster with a 3x5, 3RBI day. Clemens and Weston were both 3x6 and Cabral and Corrado had two hits each. The JetHawks were 12x23 with RISP in a good old-fashioned nut-thumping. Shane Wolf threw 7IP, 9H/5ER, 8K:3BB.

Lexington
Brian Pellegrini provided the only RBI as the Legends were shut down by Greenville 3-1. Shortstop Brandon Wikoff got on base more than anybody else with two walks, and he was the only Legend in the lineup with a batting average higher than .295 (now hitting .412). Jordan Lyles' record dropped to 6-10 (with a 3.44 ERA) with 7IP, 7H/3ER, 6K:0BB.

Tri-City
Tri-City dropped another one to Mahoning Valley 5-3. Renzo Tello was 3x4, Erik Castro was 2x4 with an RBI, and Jhonny Medrano hit a two-run homer. Colton Pitkin threw 4IP, 6H/5ER, 3K:3BB. Clark, Schurz, and Modica stopped the bleeding with five scoreless innings in relief.

Greeneville
Greeneville actually had a 7-5 lead going into the 7th. But unfortunately, the game is nine innings long, and Bluefield won 10-7. Our boy Aaron Bray was 2x4 with a double, walk, and an RBI. Kyle Miller posted the same line, and Wilton Infante was 2x5 with a triple. Brutal, though: the Gastros committed four errors leading to five unearned runs. Gabe Garcia threw 3.2IP, 7H/5R (1ER), 4K:0BB, and Jeiler Castillo was charged with the loss with 2IP, 5H/3ER.

GCL Astros
The GCL Marlins threw a 2-hitter and that's a recipe for a 5-0 win. Suniaga and Pedro Feliz got the hits. Ricardo Batista was tagged with the loss after giving up 7H/4ER in 2IP. Garrett Bullock picked up 3IP, 3H/1R (0ER) in relief.