Antonio Senzatela Rondón (born January 21, 1995) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2017.

Career

Minor leagues

The

signed Senzatela as an amateur free agent and he began playing with the

Dominican Summer League Rockies The Dominican Summer League Rockies or DSL Rockies are a Rookie League affiliate of the Colorado Rockies based in the Dominican Republic. They play in the Dominican Summer League. As an independent affiliate, they have been in existence since ...

in 2012. In 2014, MiLB.com named Senzatela as one of the Rockies' Organization All-Stars after he posted a 15–2 win–loss record with a 3.11 earned run average (ERA) for the Asheville Tourists of the Class A South Atlantic League, helping the team to win the league championship. Prior to the 2015 season, he was named by MLB.com as the Rockies' 11th best prospect. The Rockies added Senzatela to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the 2015 season. In 2016, Senzatela pitched for the Hartford Yard Goats of the Class AA Eastern League.

Major leagues

2017

Senzatela made the Rockies'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster in 2017 and he made his major league debut on April 6. Senzatela had a 3–1 win–loss record and a 2.81 ERA in five starts in April, and was named the National League's Rookie of the Month. After pitching to a 9–3 record and a 4.68 ERA in 88⅓ innings (15 starts), Senzatela was shifted to a relief pitcher in order to monitor his innings, due to him missing most of the 2016 baseball season due to various injuries. Senzatela finished the season with a 10–5 record in 36 games, 20 starts.

2018

Senzatela began the 2018 season as a relief pitcher for the Rockies. After 10 appearances, he was sent down to Colorado Springs. He was placed on the disabled list on July 12 with a blister injury. He finished the season with a 6–6 record in 23 games (13 starts).

2019

The following season, Senzatela won 11 games with a career worst 6.71 ERA in 25 starts. He struck out 76 batters in innings.

2020

In 2020, Senzatela was 5–3 with a 3.44 ERA, and had the lowest strikeouts per nine innings ratio of all qualified NL pitchers (5.0).

2021

In 2021, he set career highs in starts (28), innings pitched () and strikeouts (105), despite posting a record of 4–10 with a 4.42 ERA. Following the season, the Rockies signed Senzatela to a five-year contract extension worth $50.5 million.

2022

On April 23, 2022, in a game against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, Senzatela allowed Miguel Cabrera's 3,000th hit. The play was a single into right field. The Rockies would eventually lose 13–0. On August 18th, Senzatela left his start against the Cardinals with a left knee sprain. The next day, an MRI revealed a torn ACL which ended Senzatela's 2022 season. He finished with a record of 3–7 with a 5.07 ERA and 54 strikeouts in .

Scouting report

Senzatela throws from a high three quarters release, relying on a fastball, an slider with cutting movement, and a changeup.

Personal life

Senzatela's mother, Nidya, died from

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

in 2016. He is married.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Senzatela, Antonio 1995 births Asheville Tourists players Colorado Rockies players Dominican Summer League Rockies players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Hartford Yard Goats players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Modesto Nuts players Navegantes del Magallanes players People from Valencia, Venezuela Tri-City Dust Devils players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States