- Jo-Jo Reyes
Infobox MLB player
width = 200
caption = Reyes with the Braves in 2008
name = Jo-Jo Reyes
team = Atlanta Braves
number = 37
position = Starting pitcher
birthdate = birth date and age|1984|11|20
birthplace = city-state|West Covina|California
bats = Left
throws = Left
debutdate = July 7
debutyear = 2007
debutteam = Atlanta Braves
statyear = 2008 season
stat1label = Win-Loss
stat1value = 5-13
stat2label =Earned run average
stat2value = 5.94
stat3label =Strikeout s
stat3value = 105
teams =
*Atlanta Braves (by|2007-present)Joseph Albert "Jo-Jo" or "Po-Po" Reyes (born
November 20 ,1984 inWest Covina, California ) is astarting pitcher inMajor League Baseball who plays for theAtlanta Braves . Listed at 6'2", 230 lb., Reyes bats and throwsleft-handed . He is ranked byBaseball America as the No. 8 prospect in the Braves organization.Professional career
Reyes was drafted by the Braves out of
Riverside Polytechnic High School in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2003 MLB Draft. He spent his entire first professional season in theGulf Coast League . In 10 starts with theGulf Coast Braves , Reyes went 5-3 with a 2.56 ERA and 55strikeout s in 45.0innings pitched . He allowed just onehome run all season.With Class-A Rome in 2004, Reyes struggled most of the season, going 2-5 with a 5.33 ERA.
Tommy John surgery kept him out for the end of the year and the first half of the 2005 season. He was sent back to the GCL in 2005, and after doing well received a mid-season promotion to Class-A Danville. While his strikeout total fell (27 in 43 innings), he went 3-0 with a 3.53 ERA and posted aWHIP of 0.99, but a tornanterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ended his season prematurely.In 2006, Reyes went 8-1 with a 2.99 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 13 starts for Rome. He struck out 84 in 75.1 innings, and his performance during the first half of the season earned him a start in the All-Star Game for the Southern Division of the
South Atlantic League . He also received a promotion to the Braves' Advanced-A clubMyrtle Beach Pelicans . He went 4-4 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.34 WHIP.After his 10-1 performance in 2007, Reyes has moved ahead of left-handed Matt Harrison as the Braves' top pitching prospect. He was 8-1 with a 3.56 ERA in 13 starts at Double-A Mississippi, with a 3.56 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 73-1/3 innings. He pitched even better since a promotion to Triple-A Richmond, posting a 2-0 record with 27 strikeouts and a 1.57 ERA in in 23.0 innings.
On
July 7 ,2007 he was promoted to the Major League ball club, starting in place of the disabledJohn Smoltz againstDavid Wells and theSan Diego Padres . His first earned run came in the second inning on a solohome run byKhalil Greene . In his first plate appearance the following inning, he laid down a successfulsacrifice bunt to moveJarrod Saltalamacchia to third base. Reyes lasted only 3+ innings however, giving up five earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out one. He received no decision in the game. Reyes earned his first Major League win onSeptember 18 ,2007 in a 4-3 Braves' win against theFlorida Marlins atTurner Field .The Braves hoped to find a number 5 starter in Reyes. In the 10 starts he made in 2007, he was 2-2 with an 6.22 ERA, but with all the Braves injuries in 2008 Reyes became a regular starter.
External links
* [http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/stats/player.php?id=457456 Baseball America profile]
* [http://www.mississippibraves.com/team/?id=1721 Mississippi Braves bio]
* [http://www.myrtlebeachpelicans.com/team/?id=1658 Myrtle Beach Pelicans bio]
* [http://www.rbraves.com/team/roster/index.html?player_id=86 Richmond Braves bio]
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