Antonio Senzatela Rondón (born January 21, 1995) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2017.

Antonio Senzatela
Senzatela with the Colorado Rockies in 2017
Colorado Rockies – No. 49
Pitcher
Born: (1995-01-21) January 21, 1995 (age 29)
Valencia, Venezuela
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 6, 2017, for the Colorado Rockies
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record39–44
Earned run average4.90
Strikeouts458
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Career

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Minor leagues

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The Colorado Rockies signed Senzatela as an amateur free agent on July 8, 2011.[1] He made his professional debut with the Dominican Summer League Rockies in 2012.

In 2014, MiLB.com named Senzatela as one of the Rockies' Organization All-Stars[2] after he posted a 15–2 win–loss record with a 3.11 earned run average (ERA) for the Asheville Tourists of the Single–A South Atlantic League, helping the team to win the league championship.[3] Prior to the 2015 season, he was named by MLB.com as the Rockies' 11th best prospect.[4] The Rockies added Senzatela to their 40-man roster after the 2015 season.[5] In 2016, Senzatela pitched for the Hartford Yard Goats of the Double–A Eastern League.

Major leagues

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2017

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Senzatela made the Rockies' Opening Day roster in 2017[6] and he made his major league debut on April 6.[7] Senzatela had a 3–1 win–loss record and a 2.81 ERA in five starts in April, and was named the National League's Rookie of the Month.[8] After pitching to a 9–3 record and a 4.68 ERA in 88⅓ innings (15 starts), Senzatela was shifted to a relief pitcher in order to monitor his innings, due to him missing most of the 2016 baseball season due to various injuries. Senzatela finished the season with a 10–5 record in 36 games, 20 starts.

2018

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Senzatela began the 2018 season as a relief pitcher for the Rockies. After 10 appearances, he was sent down to the Triple–A Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He was placed on the disabled list on July 12 with a blister injury.[9] He finished the season with a 6–6 record in 23 games (13 starts).

2019

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The following season, Senzatela won 11 games with a career worst 6.71 ERA in 25 starts. He struck out 76 batters in 124+23 innings.

2020

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In 2020, Senzatela was 5–3 with a 3.44 ERA, and had the lowest strikeouts per nine innings ratio of all qualified NL pitchers (5.0).[10]

2021

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In 2021, he set career highs in starts (28), innings pitched (156+23) and strikeouts (105), despite posting a record of 4–10 with a 4.42 ERA. Following the season, the Rockies signed Senzatela to a five-year contract extension worth $50.5 million.[11]

2022

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On April 23, 2022, in a game against the Detroit Tigers, Senzatela allowed Miguel Cabrera's 3,000th hit. The play was a single into right field and the Rockies would eventually lose 13–0.[12] On August 18, Senzatela left his start against the Cardinals with a left knee sprain. The next day, an MRI revealed a torn ACL which ended Senzatela's 2022 season. He finished with a record of 3–7 with a 5.07 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 92+13 innings pitched.[13]

2023

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Senzatela made his season debut on May 5, 2023 against the New York Mets. In the start, he allowed one run on a Brandon Nimmo solo shot, which ended being the decider in a 1–0 loss.[14] In his next start on May 10, Senzatela went 2+23 innings and allowed three runs on four hits, including a two–run homer off the bat of Andrew McCutchen. He was removed from the appearance partway through the third inning with an undisclosed injury, which was later described as right forearm tightness.[15] Two days later, he was diagnosed with a UCL sprain in his right elbow.[16][17] He was placed on the 60–day injured list on June 11.[18][19] On July 14, it was announced that Senzatela would undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season.[20]

2024

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On September 16, 2024, Senzatela was activated from the injured list to make his return from surgery.[21]

Senzatela made his season debut on September 16, 2024 allowing four hits , two earned runs and two strikeouts in three innings.

Scouting report

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Senzatela throws from a high three quarters release, relying on a 92–95 miles per hour (148–153 km/h) fastball, an 82 miles per hour (132 km/h) slider with cutting movement, and a changeup.[22]

Personal life

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Senzatela's mother, Nidya, died from stomach cancer in 2016. He is married.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Keith Jarrett (July 17, 2014). "Tourists' manager says hit Senzatela if you can". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  2. ^ "Antonio Senzatela Stats, Highlights, Bio – Modesto Nuts Stats". Modesto Nuts. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  3. ^ Keith Jarrett (September 13, 2014). "Dog piles, big smiles for Asheville Tourists". Asheville Citizen-Times. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "MLB.com 2015 Prospect Watch". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on September 27, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  5. ^ "Rockies' John Axford designated for assignment". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  6. ^ "Antonio Senzatela lined up to debut for Rockies in Milwaukee after final spring test". The Denver Post. April 1, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  7. ^ "Antonio Senzatela "excited, not nervous" for MLB debut with Rockies". The Denver Post. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  8. ^ "Antonio Senzatela, Greg Holland earn NL monthly awards, highlighting a Rockies pitching turnaround". May 3, 2017.
  9. ^ "Rockies place pitcher Antonio Senzatela on disabled list, recall Jeff Hoffman". July 13, 2018.
  10. ^ "2020 National League Standard Pitching". Baseball-Reference.com.
  11. ^ Rox extend Senzatela (5 yrs), Cron (2 yrs)
  12. ^ Petzold, Evan (April 23, 2022). "Miguel Cabrera becomes seventh MLB player with 3,000 hits, 500 home runs". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  13. ^ "Rockies Place Antonio Senzatela On IL With Torn ACL". August 19, 2022. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  14. ^ "Senzatela's 1 mistake costs Rockies in season debut". mlb.com. Retrieved June 12, 2023.
  15. ^ Saunders, Patrick (May 10, 2023). "Rockies' Antonio Senzatela injured, pulled from Pirates game in third inning". Denver Post. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  16. ^ Newman, Kyle (May 12, 2023). "Rockies' Antonio Senzatela has UCL sprain; will avoid surgery, head to 15-day injured list". Denver Post. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  17. ^ Cranston, Mike (May 12, 2023). "Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela out at least 2 months with sprained UCL". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  18. ^ "Colorado Rockies transactions". MLB.com. June 11, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Zahlmann, Luke (June 11, 2023). "Rockies Notebook: Nolan Jones walks off Padres to avoid sweep, Coco Montes shines in awaited debut". Denver Gazette. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  20. ^ "Rockies' Antonio Senzatela to have Tommy John surgery". ESPN.com. Reuters. July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  21. ^ "Rockies Activate Antonio Senzatela". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  22. ^ "Pleskoff Scouting Report: Antonio Senzatela". Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  23. ^ "Antonio Senzatela thinking of mom on day of MLB debut". BSN Denver. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
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