Cesilio Pimentel

WTM’S PIRATE PLAYER PROFILES

2011
DSL:  1-1-0, 2.31 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 23.1 IP, 2.7 BB/9, 12.0 K/9

Pimentel started and relieved in his debut season, but overall his workload was limited.  He fanned a lot of hitters.

2012
DSL:  3-3-3, 2.75 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 52.1 IP, 3.1 BB/9, 6.5 K/9

The Pirates increased Pimentel’s workload while using him both as a starter and closer.  He continued to pitch well, but with a far lower K rate.

2013
R:  2-3-0, 3.97 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 34.0 IP, 3.4 BB/9, 7.9 K/9

Dividing his time between starting and relief, Pimentel had a solid year in the GCL.  His ERA was worse than his other numbers, as he didn’t allow very many baserunners.  Opponents hit just .211 against him, right-handed batters just .198.  He had a far higher ERA as a starter, but his other numbers weren’t much different.

2014
R+:  4-2-2, 1.93 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 37.1 IP, 2.9 BB/9, 7.5 K/9

Pimentel pitched very well out of the Bristol bullpen.  Opponents hit only 184/261/250 against him, with left-handed batters managing just four singles and no walks in 32 plate appearances.

2015
A-:  2-3-4, 3.98 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 52.0 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 10.9 K/9
A+:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 4.5 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

Pimentel made one cameo appearance with Bradenton, then went to Morgantown for the NYPL season.  He pitched mostly in relief, but made two starts that went badly and impacted his overall numbers.  He had a 13.50 ERA and 2.25 WHIP as a starter, and a 2.77 ERA and 1.03 WHIP as a reliever.  His walk and K rates at Morgantown were excellent.  He had only a mild platoon split, with a .606 OPS against left-handed hitters and .673 against right-handed hitters.

2016
A:  2-3-6, 2.65 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 51.0 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 8.5 K/9

The Pirates sent Pimentel to West Virginia to pitch out of the bullpen.  He missed about a month with an injury early in the year, but returned and had a good season.  He had good walk and K rates, and held opponents to a 210/273/320 line.  He had a slight reverse platoon split.  Pimentel finished the season strongly; in August, plus one September game, opponents had just six hits and two walks in 51 plate appearances, with 16 strikeouts.

Pimentel has made very slow progress.  He should be at Bradenton in 2017, then after the season he’ll become a minor league free agent.