Manny Banuelos has been quite an excitement and frustration since signing with the New York Yankees for in 2008. The deal was worth $450,000. After six up and down seasons in professional baseball, the 23-year-old left-hander will finally get the chance to show exactly why the club signed him way back when.
Banuelos, who missed the entire 2013 season after undergoing Tommy John surgey, is ready to compete this spring for a spot in the major-league rotation after logging 76 2/3 innings between three minor-league levels last year. Banuelos was once regarded as the top pitching prospect in the Yankees’ farm system. Banuelos holds a 3.29 ERA with a 1.29 WHIP over six seasons as a professional
“He was able to achieve the objective to build innings and increase the workload,” Yankees assistant general manager Billy Eppler told George King of Baseball America. “He was on a plan designed by Gil Patterson and monitored by our medical people.”
“Everybody walked away feeling good,” said Eppler, who noted that Banuelos’ fastball averaged 91.7 mph and touched 95, which was about where it was before the surgery. “He is still in the stage of where you have to watch him but he will be ready to roll in spring training. He will come in and compete for a job. The velocity was there and he developed a cutter as well.”
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