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

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(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 team ...

. In 2008, Ortiz split the season between the

Arizona League 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 m ...

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 Leag ...

, 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 Co ...

and the Single-A

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans St ...

, pitching to a cumulative 3.38 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 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 California League at the Class A-Advanced level, hosting 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 of the National League in Major League Baseball. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games a ...

, logging a 5-5 record and 2.15 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 67 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. Based in Frisco, Texas, the team is named aft ...

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 (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, 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 year ...

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. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, 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 a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. 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. T ...

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. The Slammers compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division. The team plays their home games at the Duly Health and Care Field, and is owne ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

. 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.

References

External links