Joseph Ortiz Blanco (born August 13, 1990) is a

Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for one season in 2013 with the Texas Rangers.

Career

Texas Rangers

On August 28, 2006, Ortiz signed with the Texas Rangers as an international free agent. He made his professional debut in 2007 with the Dominican Summer League Rangers. In 2008, Ortiz split the season between the AZL Rangers and the Single-A Clinton LumberKings, posting a 1.91 ERA in 24 games. He split the 2009 season between the Low-A Spokane Indians and the Single-A Hickory Crawdads, pitching to a cumulative 3.38 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 42.2 innings of work. The following season, Ortiz split the year between Hickory and the High-A Bakersfield Blaze, where he recorded a 4-1 record and 1.62 ERA in 28 appearances. For the 2011 season, Ortiz played with the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, logging a 5-5 record and 2.15 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 67.0 innings pitched. In 2012, Ortiz split the year between the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders and the Triple-A Round Rock Express, accumulating a 2-3 record and 2.15 ERA in 51 appearances between the two teams. Ortiz made the Texas Rangers'

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 2013. He made his MLB debut on March 31, 2013, pitching 1 inning against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

, striking out 2 and allowing 1 earned run. He split the 2013 season between Round Rock and Texas, recording a 2-2 record and 4.23 ERA in 32 big league games. Ortiz did not appear in a big league game in 2014, spending most of the season on the disabled list or with Frisco and the AZL Rangers.

Chicago Cubs

On October 6, 2014, Ortiz was claimed off waivers by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

to begin the 2015 season. Ortiz was released by the Cubs organization on August 14, 2015, after registering a 5.24 ERA in 38 games with Iowa.

Joliet Slammers

On February 20, 2017, Ortiz signed with the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier League. Ortiz pitched to a 4-3 record and 5.19 ERA in 19 games with Joliet before he was released by the team on August 12.https://www.frontierleague.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/worksheet-2017-web-format.pdf

References

External links