Angel German

ANGEL GERMAN, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
Born: May 25, 1996
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 185
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Signed: Int’l Free Agent, 2013, Los Angeles Dodgers
How Acquired: Trade (with Oneil Cruz from Dodgers for Tony Watson)
Country: Dominican Republic
Agent: N/A

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

German has a very strong arm but has struggled to pick up the other aspects of pitching.  He moved to the bullpen early and mostly struggled until 2017.  He originally signed with the Dodgers for a modest bonus, but showed a spike in velocity to 94-96 mph, and has hit 100 mph.  He throws an improving but erratic slider and a rudimentary change, and has below average command.  The Pirates acquired him in the Tony Watson trade at the 2017 deadline.

2013
DSL:  0-5-0, 6.10 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 20.2 IP, 7.4 BB/9, 4.4 K/9

German made ten appearances, including six starts, in his first pro season.  He obviously struggled, with bad numbers across the board.

2014
DSL:  1-5-0, 8.63 ERA, 2.04 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 6.8 BB/9, 8.6 K/9

German’s second season didn’t go any better than his first, apart from a much better K rate.

2015
R:  0-3-0, 4.53 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 45.2 IP, 4.7 BB/9, 7.1 K/9

The Dodgers moved German up to the GCL and he made some improvement, without pitching especially well.  He was still pitching mainly as a starter.  Baseball America rated him the Dodgers’ 27th best prospect after the season.

2016
R:  0-0-2, 2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 7.1 IP, 3.7 BB/9, 7.4 K/9
A:  1-2-2, 7.45 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 19.1 IP, 6.1 BB/9, 7.9 K/9

The Dodgers assigned German to low A in early June and he pitched there for two months, solely in relief.  He struggled to throw strikes, then finally was sent down to the GCL for the last several weeks.

2017
A (LAD):  1-0-7, 1.91 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 33.0 IP, 3.8 BB/9, 10.1 K/9
A (Pgh):  0-0-1, 1.80 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 7.2 BB/9, 8.1 K/9

German finally made significant progress in a return to low A.  His walk rate was OK and his K rate very high.  He had a reverse platoon split, holding left-handed hitters to a measly .382 OPS.  Right-handed hitters had a .617 OPS against him.  The Dodgers traded him to the Pirates at the deadline.  After the trade, he had some control problems.  It’s possible he was trying too hard to impress his new team.

2018
A+:  1-3-3, 6.92 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 6.2 BB/9, 10.5 K/9

German was eligible for the Rule 5 draft, but wasn’t added to the roster or selected.  He spent the season at Bradenton and had a rough year, struggling to throw strikes.  He continued to get strikeouts, but opponents batted .263 against him and slugged .397, well above the league averages of .252 and .368.  That probably reflects the lack of a reliable secondary pitch.

2019
AA:  3-3-2, 4.33 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 52.0 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 8.3 K/9

German spent the season with Altoona.  He continued to have control problems and his K rate dropped, but opponents batted only .182 against him.  He did have trouble with gopher balls, allowing one every six and a half innings.  German was very tough on right-handed hitters, holding them to a .583 OPS, but left-handed hitters had a .757 OPS.

German will be a free agent in the off-season.

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2019: Minor League Contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $75,000
MiLB Debut: 2013
MLB Debut: N/A
MiLB FA Eligible: 2019
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: 2017
Added to 40-Man: N/A
Options Remaining: 3
MLB Service Time: 0.000
TRANSACTIONS
April 18, 2013: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an international free agent.
July 31, 2017: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Oneil Cruz to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Tony Watson.