Nestor Cortes Jr.

Nestor Cortes Jr. (born December 10, 1994) is a Cuban-American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.

Nestor Cortés Jr.
Cortes Jr. with the New York Yankees in 2019
Seattle Mariners – No. 30
Pitcher
Born: (1994-12-10) December 10, 1994
Surgidero de Batabanó, Cuba
Bats: Right Throws: Left
MLB debut
March 31, 2018, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
(through August 6, 2020)
Win–loss record5–1
Earned run average5.95
Strikeouts79
Teams

Early life

Cortés was born in Surgidero de Batabanó, Cuba. His father won the visa lottery when he was seven months old, and they relocated to the United States in the city of Hialeah, Fl. Started playing baseball at the age of 5. [1]

Career

Cortés attended Hialeah High School in Hialeah, Florida. He committed to play college baseball at Florida International University.[2]

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees selected him in the 36th round of the 2013 MLB draft.[3] He signed and made his professional debut that year with the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, where he had a 0–1 win–loss record with a 4.42 earned run average (ERA) in ​18 1⁄3 innings pitched. He returned there in 2014, going 1–2 with a 2.27 ERA in 11 games (two starts). Cortés spent 2015 with the Pulaski Yankees of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, where he compiled a 6–3 record with a 2.26 ERA in 12 games (ten starts). In 2016, he pitched for the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League, Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League, and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League, pitching to a combined 11–4 record with a 1.53 ERA in 21 games (12 starts). Cortés played 2017 with Tampa, Trenton, and the RailRiders.[4] where he was 7–4 with a 2.06 ERA in 30 games (13 starts).[5]

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles selected Cortés from the Yankees organization in the 2017 Rule 5 draft.[6] With the Orioles, Cortés competed for a spot on the Orioles' Opening Day roster as either a starting pitcher or relief pitcher.[7][8][9] He made the Orioles' Opening Day roster in 2018 as a relief pitcher,[10] and made his major league debut on March 31.[11] Cortés allowed a grand slam to Josh Reddick on April 3, and then a walk with the bases loaded to Curtis Granderson followed by a grand slam by Josh Donaldson on April 9.[12] The Orioles designated Cortés for assignment the next day.[13]

New York Yankees (second stint)

On April 13, 2018, he was returned to the New York Yankees.[14] He played in one game for Trenton before returning to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, combining for a 6–6 record and a 3.68 ERA in 24 games.[15]

The Yankees invited Cortés to spring training as a non-roster player in 2019.[16] He did not make the team and was assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The Yankees promoted him to the major leagues on May 9. On June 15, he earned his first Major League win, striking out 7 batters, and allowing 2 earned runs in 5 innings.[17] On June 21, 2019, he was optioned to Triple-A with Aaron Judge coming off the injured list. He was 5-1 with an ERA of 5.67 in 33 games.

Seattle Mariners

On November 25, 2019, Cortes was traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for international bonus pool money.[18]

Player profile

Cortés throws a four-seam fastball that averages approximately 89 miles per hour (143 km/h). He also throws a slider and a curveball.[19] His curveball has been registered as slow as 47 miles per hour (76 km/h).[4]

Cortés hides the ball well in his wind-up, which helps to alleviate the issues presented by his shorter frame. When throwing a slider or curveball, his arm angle is slightly lower than his four-seam fastball.

See also

References
  1. Deportes (December 29, 2017). "El cubano Néstor Cortés llegará muy pronto a Grandes Ligas" (in Spanish). Cibercuba.com. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  2. "Nestor Cortes - Player Profile | Perfect Game USA". Perfectgame.org. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  3. "2013 Draft: Yankees agree to sign 36th rounder Nestor Cortes - River Avenue Blues". Riveraveblues.com. July 12, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  4. Donnie Collins (August 17, 2017). "Collins: RailRiders' Cortes worth watching. - Sports". The Times-Tribune. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  5. "Nestor Cortes Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  6. "Orioles select three pitchers, two from Yankees, in Rule 5 draft". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  7. Ghiroli, Brittany (January 20, 2016). "Orioles' Nestor Cortes vying for rotation". MLB.com. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  8. "Orioles Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes Jr. relishing chance to make final impression Sunday". Baltimore Sun. February 27, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  9. "Orioles Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes Jr. continues to make case for roster spot". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  10. "For Orioles experiencing first Opening Day, Thursday marks culmination of lifelong dreams". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  11. "Orioles' Rule 5 relievers Cortes and Araujo hold their own in major league debuts". Baltimore Sun. April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  12. "Disaster repeats itself for Orioles Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes Jr. in loss to Toronto". Baltimore Sun. April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  13. MLBRosterMoves (April 10, 2018). "MLBRosterMoves on Twitter: ".@Orioles recall RHP Yefry Ramirez from Triple-A Norfolk; designate LHP Nestor Cortes Jr. for assignment."". Twitter.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  14. "Orioles return Rule 5 Draft pick Nestor Cortes to Yankees - River Avenue Blues". Riveraveblues.com. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  15. "Cortes puts RailRiders on brink of Finals". MiLB.com. September 3, 2006. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  16. Dykstra, Sam (February 1, 2019). "Yankees invite Florial to spring camp". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  17. Miller, Randy (May 9, 2019). "Yankees farm out Jake Barrett, summon Nestor Cortes Jr. over Chad Green". NJ.com. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  18. Ryan Chatelain (November 25, 2019). "Yankees Trade Nestor Cortes Jr. To Seattle". WFAN. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  19. Cicere, Nick (January 9, 2018). "Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes could be competing for an Orioles rotation spot". Camden Chat. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
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