Manny Banuelos

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2008
R:  4-1-0, 2.57 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 42.0 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 7.9 K/9

The Yankees sent Banuelos to the GCL and he quickly got established as a prospect at age 17.  He had a strong season and Baseball America ranked him as the team’s 14th best prospect after the season.

2009
A:  9-5-0, 2.67 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 108.0 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 8.7 K/9
A+:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 1.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 18.0 K/9

Banuelos pitched mostly in the rotation in low A and again had a strong season.  BA moved him up to sixth in the system.

2010
R:  0-0-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 5.4 BB/9, 10.8 K/9
A+:  0-3-0, 2.23 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 44.1 IP, 2.8 BB/9, 12.6 K/9
AA:  0-1-0, 3.52 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 15.1 IP, 4.7 BB/9, 10.0 K/9

After having an appendectomy during spring training, Banuelos missed the start of the season.  He eventually made ten starts in high A, which went very well, including a much-increased K rate.  BA ranked him fourth in the system.

2011
AA:  4-5-0, 3.59 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 95.1 IP, 4.9 BB/9, 8.9 K/9
AAA:  2-2-0, 4.19 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 34.1 IP, 5.0 BB/9, 8.1 K/9

Banuelos continued to pitch well, but not quite as well, in AA.  He did have considerably more trouble with walks.  Banuelos finished the season with seven starts in AAA.  BA ranked him second after the season.

2012
AAA:  0-2-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 3.8 BB/9, 8.3 K/9

Banuelos started having elbow pain after six AAA starts and was shut down.  He had Tommy John surgery in October.  The Yankees nevertheless added him to the 40-man roster after the season.

2013
INJURED

Banuelos  missed the season following the surgery.

2014
A+:  0-0-0, 2.84 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 1.4 BB/9, 9.9 K/9
AA:  1-3-0, 4.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 49.0 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 8.1 K/9
AAA:  1-0-0, 3.60 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 15.0 IP, 6.0 BB/9, 7.8 K/9

Banuelos worked his way back up to AAA after returning from the surgery.  After the season, the Yankees traded him to Atlanta.

2015
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 13.5 K/9
AAA:  6-2-0, 2.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 84.2 IP, 4.3 BB/9, 7.3 K/9
MLB:  1-4-0, 5.13 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 26.1 IP, 4.1 BB/9, 6.5 K/9

The Braves sent Banuelos to AAA to opened the season.  He got excellent results there, although the analytics weren’t as impressive as his ERA; his xFIP was 4.11.  The Braves called him up and he made his major league debut in July.  Banuelos mostly struggled in the majors, then he missed much of the last couple months of the season due to a bone spur in his elbow that required surgery.

2016
A:  0-1-0, 13.50 ERA, 3.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 18.0 K/9
AA:  0-2-0, 5.40 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 18.1 IP, 3.9 BB/9, 9.3 K/9
AAA:  0-2-0, 4.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 30.1 IP, 6.5 BB/9, 6.2 K/9

The surgery kept Banuelos out until late May.  He went to AAA and didn’t pitch especially well, and Atlanta, having obtained a fourth option for him, used it.  In August the Braves released him.  He signed a minor league deal with the Angels a few days later, but he didn’t pitch again until the following year.

2017
AAA:  5-6-0, 4.93 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 95.0 IP, 4.6 BB/9, 8.1 K/9

The Angels kept Banuelos in AAA all year, using him mostly as a reliever.  He didn’t have a good season, getting hit fairly hard and having control issues.  He became a free agent after the season and signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers.

2018
AAA:  9-7-0, 3.73 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 108.2 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 10.5 K/9

Banuelos again spent the season in AAA, mostly as a starter.  He had a better season than the year before, with improved walk and K rates.  After the season the Dodgers traded him to the White Sox, who added him to their 40-man roster.

2019
R:  0-1-0, 4.76 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 5.2 IP, 4.8 BB/9, 12.7 K/9
A+:  0-0-0, 4.15 ERA, 2.10 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 4.2 BB/9, 10.4 K/9
AAA:  0-1-0, 15.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 2.3 BB/9, 4.5 K/9
MLB:  3-4-0, 6.93 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 50.2 IP, 5.9 BB/9, 7.8 K/9

The Sox kept Banuelos in the majors to start the season.  He opened in the bullpen and pitched decently, then moved to the rotation.  The move didn’t work out; Banuelos had a 4.50 ERA in relief and 8.05 as a starter.  Starting in mid-June, Banuelos spent much of the rest of the season struggling with recurring left shoulder inflammation, and saw only limited action.  Chicago outrighted Banuelos after the season and he elected free agency.  Seattle signed him to a minor league deal.

2020
CHINA:  6-3-0, 2.60 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 52.0 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 10.7 K/9

Banuelos never appeared for the Mariners and they released him in May.  He caught on in the Chinese Professional Baseball League and pitched well without dominating.

2021
CHINA:  1-2-0, 2.94 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 49.0 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 11.8 K/9
MEXICO:  1-0-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 1.8 BB/9, 9.9 K/9

Banuelos pitched in both China and Mexico, mostly the former.  He again pitched well.  After the season he signed a minor league deal to return to his original organization, the Yankees.

2022
AAA (NYY):  0-2-0, 2.35 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 30.2 IP, 3.5 BB/9, 8.8 K/9
MLB (NYY):  0-0-0, 2.16 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 8.1 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 8.6 K/9
MLB:  2-1-0, 4.96 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 32.2 IP, 5.0 BB/9, 9.4 K/9

In AAA, Banuelos pitched well, mostly as a starter.  The Yankees called him up in late May and he got into four games as a reliever.  He again pitched well, but was designated for assignment a month later.  The Pirates obtained him for cash and he became their primary lefty out of the bullpen.  He didn’t pitch especially well or badly for the Pirates, putting up mediocre numbers, but that’s generally more than enough for the Pirates.  He was far more effective against left-handed batters, holding them to a .497 OPS, compared to .661 for right-handed batters.

The Pirates set the bar for relievers . . . well, pretty much for everybody . . . extremely low, which is why their bullpen collapsed in the last couple of months of 2022.  When you typically need 3-4 relievers to get through a game and they’re all mediocre at best, most of the time at least one of them, often more, will have a rough day.  The Pirates desperately need to try to find actual, good relievers, but their habit of clogging the roster with replacement-level pitchers prevents them from even trying.  Banuelos wasn’t terrible for them in 2022, but “non-terrible” shouldn’t be the standard.  They need to start adding relievers with legitimate upside to the roster.