Miguel Del Pozo

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2011
DSL:  3-3-0, 5.09 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 40.2 IP, 5.5 BB/9, 10.4 K/9

Del Pozo divided his time between starting and relieving in his debut.  He had control problems but missed a good number of bats.

2012
R:  1-2-1, 4.02 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 31.1 IP, 6.6 BB/9, 9.2 K/9

In the Gulf Coast League, Del Pozo pitched mostly in relief.  He continued to put up high walk and K rates.

2013
A-:  2-1-0, 4.81 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 24.1 IP, 6.3 BB/9, 13.3 K/9
A+:  0-0-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 9.0 BB/9, 0.0 K/9

Except for a brief appearance in high A, Del Pozo pitched in relief in the New York-Penn League.  He continued to walk a lot of hitters and he struck out even more.

2014
A:  2-6-4, 4.91 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 66.0 IP, 2.6 BB/9, 11.6 K/9

Del Pozo pitched in relief in full season ball and made great strides with his control while maintaining a high K rate.  He pitched much better than indicated by his ERA, which was inflated by a very bad first month.  Baseball America rated him the Marlins’ 27th best prospect after the season.

2015
A+:  2-5-0, 4.25 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 59.1 IP, 3.0 BB/9, 8.3 K/9

In high A, Del Pozo pitched primarily in relief, but the Marlins moved him to the rotation at the end of June.  Overall, he wasn’t as effective as the previous season.  He started five times in his last six appearances, then went out with an injury at the end of July.  He ultimately had Tommy John surgery.

2016
INJURED

Del Pozo missed the season following surgery.

2017
R:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 13.5 K/9
A:  0-0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 12.0 K/9
A+:  2-0-0, 0.54 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 16.2 IP, 2.7 BB/9, 9.2 K/9
AA:  1-0-0, 2.25 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 11.3 BB/9, 6.8 K/9

Del Pozo worked his way back from the Tommy John surgery, generally pitching well.  The Marlins added him to the 40-man roster after the season.

2018
AA:  5-0-1, 3.97 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 34.0 IP, 4.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9

After missing the first two months due to injury, Del Pozo spent the rest of the season in the AA bullpen.  He didn’t have good numbers overall, but that was mainly due to one bad outing in June in which he gave up eight earned runs in two-thirds of an inning.  He allowed only seven earned runs in his other 27 games.  The Marlins outrighted Del Pozo after the season; he became a free agent and signed a minor league deal with Texas.

2019
AAA (Tex):  2-3-1, 5.12 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 45.2 IP, 4.1 BB/9, 12.8 K/9
AAA (LAA):  0-0-1, 3.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 0.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9
MLB (LAA):  1-1-0, 10.61 ERA, 1.93 WHIP, 9.1 IP, 7.7 BB/9, 10.6 K/9

The Rangers sent Del Pozo to AAA.  He didn’t pitch well there, although some of that was the offensive explosion in the already high-octane Pacific Coast League, which had a 5.49 league ERA.  In August, Texas sold Del Pozo to the Angels, who called him up shortly afterward.  He struggled in his short time in the majors, although he at least maintained a good K rate.

Despite the high K rates, Del Pozo has looked promising only in relatively brief spurts.  He should provide AAA depth for the Pirates, but another bullpen meltdown like they experienced in 2019 could provide him with a chance in the majors.  If he does get added to the 40-man roster, he has two options left.

UPDATE:  The Pirates called Del Pozo up early in the truncated season when they had a couple of injuries.  He was unable to throw strikes, walking eight in 3.2 IP.  The Pirates designated him for assignment in mid-August and he cleared waivers.