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 Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(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 The Dominican Summer League Rangers or DSL Rangers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Dominican Summer League and Rookie affiliates of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Boca Chica, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Since 2014, the tea ...

. In 2008, Ortiz split the season between the

AZL Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is composed ...

and the Single-A

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Lea ...

, posting a 1.91 ERA in 24 games. He split the 2009 season between the Low-A

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

and the Single-A

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

, 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 The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facing ...

, 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 The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

, 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 The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

and the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

, 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 The Joliet Slammers are a professional baseball team based in Joliet, Illinois, that play in the independent Frontier League. They play their home games at Duly Health and Care Field. They replaced the Joliet JackHammers of the Northern League ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

. 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