Damien Magnifico

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2012
R+:  0-3-0, 5.82 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 21.2 IP, 6.2 BB/9, 10.4 K/9

Magnifico pitched mostly in relief in his debut and mostly struggled, partly due to control problems.

2013
A:  5-1-0, 3.83 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 54.0 IP, 4.0 BB/9, 7.7 K/9
A+:  0-2-0, 6.08 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, 26.2 IP, 5.7 BB/9, 5.7 K/9

Pitching mostly as a starter, Magnifico made some progress in low A, but pitched poorly after a June promotion to high A.  Baseball America ranked him 23rd on Milwaukee’s top prospect list.

2014
A+:  8-6-0, 3.74 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 120.1 IP, 3.2 BB/9, 5.7 K/9

Magnifico stayed in high A, still as a starter, and made progress, albeit with a low K rate.  BA rated him 30th in the Brewers’ system.

2015
AA:  4-1-20, 1.17 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 53.2 IP, 3.7 BB/9, 6.4 K/9

The Brewers moved Magnifico to relief and he got great results in AA, although with unimpressive walk and K rates.  BA ranked him 30th in the Brewers’ system after the season and Milwaukee added him to their 40-man roster.

2016
AAA:  6-7-18, 4.06 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 62.0 IP, 4.8 BB/9, 8.9 K/9
MLB:  0-0-0, 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 0.0 K/9

Magnifico moved up to AAA and had increased issues with the strike zone, although he also had a better K rate.  He got a couple of very brief callups to the majors.

2017
AA (LAA):  1-0-0, 3.18 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 7.1 BB/9, 13.5 K/9
AAA (Mil):  0-0-0, 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 1.1 IP, 13.5 BB/9, 13.5 K/9
AAA (Balt):  1-0-0, 9.95 ERA, 2.53 WHIP, 6.1 IP, 4.3 BB/9, 7.1 K/9
AAA (LAA):  4-2-4, 6.82 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 34.1 IP, 6.3 BB/9, 8.9 K/9
MLB (LAA):  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.00 WHIP, 0.1 IP, 54.0 BB/9, 27.0 K/9

Milwaukee sent Magnifico back to AAA to start the season, but traded him in April to Baltimore for international bonus pool money.  The Orioles designated him for assignment a couple weeks later and then traded him to the Angels.  The Angels sent him to AAA, called him up for one game, then late in the season demoted him to AA.  Throughout the season, Magnifico struggled badly, with control being part of the problem.  The Angels outrighted him in August and the Pirates selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in December.

2018
AAA:  3-4-0, 3.57 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 70.2 IP, 5.6 BB/9, 8.2 K/9

Magnifico pitched in various roles for Indianapolis, mostly in relief but including four late-season spot starts.  He pitched much better than the previous year, but had increased control problems.  Opponents batted 236/346/299 against him.  He was very tough on right-handed hitters, holding them to an OPS of .571, compared to .763 by left-handed hitters.

Magnifico will be a free agent in the off-season.