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.