Atlanta Braves Fifth Starter: Top Contenders
Feb 22, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees pitcher
Manny Banuelos(75) poses for a photo at Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Manny Banuelos – LHP
Back in 2011, New York Yankee prospect Manny Banuelos was the best that the greatest closer in the game, Mariano Rivera, had ever seen! That was a seemingly HUGE endorsement. In fact, according to a 2011 article on ESPN by Andrew Marchand, Rivera said of Banuelos at the time…
"I like everything about him. The makeup and how he keeps his composure. I notice situations and how you react in situations. Where you make your pitches in tough situations, where you spot your pitches, he has the ability to do that."
Of course things didn’t pan out quite like either Rivera or Banuelos had hoped, and we must remember how much hype the Yankees organization likes to throw around with their prospects. How much of any of that was true? Some of it for sure.
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Near the close of the 2012 season, Banuelos became another in a long line of pitchers who had to undergo Tommy John surgery. Banuelos sat out a little over a year, came back in 2014, but struggled. While that’s not abnormal, the Yankees had little interest any longer, and traded Manny for the Atlanta Braves’ David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve.
It’s not uncommon for a pitcher to need a couple of years after TJS to begin to get back to form, so the buzz seems to be that the Atlanta Braves are encouraged, hopeful, and that they are seeing some of the same signs from Banuelos he reportedly showed with the Yankees.
Banuelos is very capable, with at least three above-average pitches (solid change, slider and curve), can hit speeds in the mid 90s consistently, and has a solid frame at 5′ 11″, 205 lbs.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez may be interested simply because ManBan (as he’s oddly known) could turn out (like so many before him) to make a quality transition to the pen if he continues to have post-TJ starting struggles. Along those lines, Gonzalez said…
"For me, he’s in the mix of being that No. 5 starter. If he could help us in the bullpen and we could do that as a way to manage his innings a little bit, we’re open to that."
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