Greeneville Astros: Euris Quezada

Euris Quezada
How did he get here?: Undrafted free agent, signed December 2008
Stats: 6'6", 210 lbs, Throws: Right
Age as of April 1, 2011: 21 - but will be 22 on April 6
Birthplace/Hometown: Sabana Larga de Comenador, Dominican Republic
Men of the Match: 1



2010 Overview

IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB	BAA	K/9	BB/9
63.1	5.83/1.47	38:12	.313	5.4	1.7

2009

IP	ERA/WHIP	K:BB	HR/9	K/9	BB/9
41.2	6.91/1.51	27:14	0.9	5.8	3.0

What happened?

Quezada spent 2009 in the GCL, where things didn't go so well - he didn't strike out a lot of guys, walked a few, hit some, and gave up a lot of hits. Somewhat surprisingly, the Astros sent him up to Greeneville, where he actually fared quite a bit better. His WHIP was down (slightly), HBPs were down, walks were down. Quezada didn't strike out many batters, but that could come with time.

What went right?

Limiting walks. This is a pretty big one, because it's a decent indicator of control. Quezada knocked his walks down from 3.0 per nine innings to 1.7 in 2010. Only five of those walks were to RHBs.

Away games. Quezada allowed a .298 BAA on the road, actually got more GBs than FBs (1.29, compared to 0.59 GB:FB ratio at home), and had an ERA over a run below his home splits.

Scoring position. Hits per nine innings w/RISP: 1.03. With runners on: 1.23. With the bases empty: 1.32.

What went wrong?

There is a site called Minor League Splits that could have given us a look into whether the high BAA was due to luck, or just throwing so few balls (as in "not strikes") that he was just getting tagged. That site is down. So we can't tell, but to throw 63.1IP and allow hitters to knock a .313 clip isn't great.

Homers. Quezada gave up eight homers - albeit six with the bases empty. He also hit seven batters and threw five wild pitches (these are all better than in 2009).

Appy Astros says: At 22 next season, I suspect he might be given a shot at Tri Cities but he might not be a starter any longer.

Quezada did show some improvement over his GCL season, and he's a big guy. He has also only played professional baseball for two seasons, so I think he may be on a longer leash, and a repeat of Greeneville may be in the cards for him.