Damien Magnifico

DAMIEN MAGNIFICO, RIGHT HANDED PITCHER
Born: May 24, 1991
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 195
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Drafted: 5th Round, 185th overall pick, 2012 (Brewers)
How Acquired: Rule 5 draft, minor league phase
College: University of Oklahoma
Agent: N/A

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

Magnifico threw 100 mph in college, but his fastball was straight, he had no useful secondary pitch, and his command was erratic.  He’s not a big guy and has a high-effort delivery.  He also had elbow issues prior to being drafted, but hasn’t since.  As a pro, he moved to the bullpen in 2015 and dialed the fastball down to the 95-97 mph range.  He throws a hard slider and at times has thrown a fringy change.  He’s had high groundball rates in the minors, but despite the velocity hadn’t missed that many bats.  Magnifico made the back end of Milwaukee’s top prospects list for several years and briefly reached the majors several times, but fell out of favor quickly with a rough 2017 season.  The Pirates picked him up in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.

2012
R+:  0-3-0, 5.82 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 21.2 IP, 6.2 BB/9, 10.4 K/9

Magnifico pitched mostly in relief in his debut and mostly struggled, partly due to control problems.

2013
A:  5-1-0, 3.83 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 54.0 IP, 4.0 BB/9, 7.7 K/9
A+:  0-2-0, 6.08 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 26.2 IP, 5.7 BB/9, 5.7 K/9

Pitching mostly as a starter, Magnifico made some progress in low A, but pitched poorly after a June promotion to high A.  Baseball America ranked him 23rd on Milwaukee’s top prospect list.

2014
A+:  8-6-0, 3.74 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 120.1 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 5.7 K/9

Magnifico stayed in high A, still as a starter, and made progress, albeit with a low K rate.  BA rated him 30th in the Brewers’ system.

2015
AA:  4-1-20, 1.17 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 53.2 IP, 3.7 BB/9, 6.4 K/9

The Brewers moved Magnifico to relief and he got great results in AA, although with unimpressive walk and K rates.  BA ranked him 30th in the Brewers’ system after the season and Milwaukee added him to their 40-man roster.

2016
AAA:  6-7-18, 4.06 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 62.0 IP, 4.8 BB/9, 8.9 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 0.0 K/9

Magnifico moved up to AAA and had increased issues with the strike zone, although he also had a better K rate.  He got a couple of very brief callups to the majors.

2017
AA (LAA):  1-0-0, 3.18 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 7.1 BB/9, 13.5 K/9
AAA (Mil):  0-0-0, 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 1.1 IP, 13.5 BB/9, 13.5 K/9
AAA (Balt):  1-0-0, 9.95 ERA, 2.53 WHIP, 6.1 IP, 4.3 BB/9, 7.1 K/9
AAA (LAA):  4-2-4, 6.82 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 34.1 IP, 6.3 BB/9, 8.9 K/9
MLB (LAA):  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.00 WHIP, 0.1 IP, 54.0 BB/9, 27.0 K/9

Milwaukee sent Magnifico back to AAA to start the season, but traded him in April to Baltimore for international bonus pool money.  The Orioles designated him for assignment a couple weeks later and then traded him to the Angels.  The Angels sent him to AAA, called him up for one game, then late in the season demoted him to AA.  Throughout the season, Magnifico struggled badly, with control being part of the problem.  The Angels outrighted him in August and the Pirates selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in December.

2018
AAA:  3-4-0, 3.57 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 70.2 IP, 5.6 BB/9, 8.2 K/9

Magnifico pitched in various roles for Indianapolis, mostly in relief but including four late-season spot starts.  He pitched much better than the previous year, but had increased control problems.  Opponents batted 236/346/299 against him.  He was very tough on right-handed hitters, holding them to an OPS of .571, compared to .763 by left-handed hitters.

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

CONTRACT INFORMATION
2018: Minor league contract
PLAYER INFORMATION
Signing Bonus: $285,000
MiLB Debut: 2012
MLB Debut: 8/16/2016
MiLB FA Eligible: 2018
MLB FA Eligible: N/A
Rule 5 Eligible: 2018
Added to 40-Man: 11/20/15 (since removed)
Options Remaining: 1 (USED:  2016, 2017)
MLB Service Time: 0.033
TRANSACTIONS
June 9, 2009: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 5th round, 164th overall pick.
June 5, 2012:
Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 5th round, 185th overall pick; signed on July 15.
November 20, 2015:
Contract purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers.
April 13, 2017: Traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Arizona Diamondbacks for international bonus pool money.
May 2, 2017: Designated for assignment by the Baltimore Orioles.
May 6, 2017: Traded by the Baltimore Orioles to the Los Angeles Angels for Jordan Kipper.
August 15, 2017: Outrighted to AAA by the Los Angeles Angels.
December 14, 2017: Selected in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Los Angeles Angels.