Denny Bautista

Denny M. Bautista Germán (born August 23, 1980) is a Dominican Republic former professional baseball pitcher.

Bautista was born on August 23, 1980, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

He had an early connection to Major League Baseball (MLB): as a teenager he pitched in a park built by professional baseball players Pedro Martínez, Ramón Martínez, and Juan Guzmán.

Pedro, then one of baseball's outstanding starting pitchers, mentored Bautista and trained with him during the offseason.

The Florida Marlins signed him in 2000 but traded him to the Baltimore Orioles before Bautista reached the major leagues.

The Florida Marlins signed Bautista on June 21, 2000, and assigned him to the Gulf Coast Marlins, their rookie-level minor league affiliate.

He started 11 games for the Marlins, posting a 6–2 win–loss record with an earned run average (ERA) of 2.43 and 17 walks.

He was tied for second in the league in wins (along with six other pitchers behind Jeff Randazzo's seven), second in the league in ERA (behind Yoel Hernández's 1.35), tied for second with 58 strikeouts (along with Randazzo behind Manuel Esquivia's 77), third in the league with 63 innings pitched (behind Randazzo's 68 2⁄3 and Esquivia's 64 2⁄3), and tied for second in the league in complete games with two (tied with Hernández behind Randazzo's three).

He also appeared in one game for the Single-A short season Utica Blue Sox of the New York–Penn League that year.

He split 2001 between Utica and the Single-A Kane County Cougars of the Midwest League, going a combined 6–2 with an ERA of 3.23, 51 strikeouts, 20 walks, and 78 1⁄3 innings pitched in 15 games (14 starts).

In the playoffs, he pitched a shutout for the Cougars, allowing just one hit, striking out eight, and helping the Cougars win their first Midwest League title.

After the 2001 season, Baseball America ranked Bautista the third-best prospect in the Marlins' organization.

The following April, a USA Today article said that Bautista had similar career potential to Pedro Martínez, noting that Bautista's fastball had become about 10 mph faster during his time in the minor leagues.

In 2002, he pitched with the Single-A Advanced Jupiter Hammerheads of the Florida State League, where he went 4–6 with an ERA of 4.99, 79 strikeouts, 40 walks, and 88 1⁄3 innings pitched in 19 games (15 starts).

He recovered in 2003, making 25 starts between the Hammerheads and the Double-A Carolina Mudcats of the Southern League.

He finished the year with a 12–9 win–loss record, an improved ERA of 3.41, 138 strikeouts, and 70 walks in 137 1⁄3 innings pitched.

On August 31, 2003, the Marlins traded Bautista and fellow minor leaguer Don Levinski to the Baltimore Orioles for veteran Jeff Conine.

Bautista is 6 ft tall and weighs 190 lb. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Francisco Giants from 2004 to 2010.

He debuted with the Orioles in 2004, appearing in two games before getting traded to the Kansas City Royals.

Before the 2004 season, Baseball America ranked him the Orioles' fifth-best prospect.

The Orioles assigned Bautista to the Double-A Bowie Baysox of the Eastern League, where he went 3–5 with a 4.74 ERA, 72 strikeouts, 33 walks, and 62 2⁄3 innings pitched in 14 games (13 starts) during the 2004 season.

Bautista made his major league debut that year: the Orioles called him up as part of a roster reshuffle, and he made his first appearance, in relief, on May 25, 2004, against the New York Yankees.

He recorded three outs in the first inning he pitched, but he got into difficulties and surrendered four runs on three hits before getting removed during his second inning.

After a second relief appearance on May 27 (in which he allowed four runs in 1⁄3 of an inning) amid a three-game sweep of the Orioles by the Yankees, Bautista was sent back to Bowie.

A month later the Orioles traded him to the Kansas City Royals for veteran relief pitcher Jason Grimsley.

Bautista was ranked Kansas City's number two prospect by Baseball America entering the 2005 season, but he made just seven starts before missing the rest of the season with an injury.

He posted a 5.66 earned run average (ERA) for the Royals in 2006 before getting traded to the Colorado Rockies.

He appeared in nine games (all in relief) for the Rockies in 2007, spending most of the year in the minor leagues.

After 2007, Bautista never made another start in the major leagues.

He began 2008 with the Detroit Tigers bullpen but had an injury and was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates during the year.

He re-signed with Pittsburgh in 2009 but only appeared in 14 games, spending most of the year in the minors.

Bautista posted a 3.74 ERA with the San Francisco Giants in 2010 but was never on their playoff roster and was released during the playoffs.

From 2011 through 2013, he played for the Hanwha Eagles of the KBO League.

He bats and throws right-handed.

Bautista throws three pitches: a fastball, a curveball, and a changeup.

He has struggled with control throughout his career.

Bautista grew up receiving instruction on pitching from his second cousin, Pedro Martínez.

In 2011, he signed with the Seattle Mariners but was assigned to the minor leagues.

Halfway through the season, he joined the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization.

On April 18, 2015, it was announced that he had signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox.