Former Red Sox prospect Gilberto Batista (part of Danny Jansen trade) named Florida State League Pitcher of the Week

Former Red Sox prospect Gilberto Batista has been named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 5-11, Minor League Baseball announced on Monday.

One of three prospects traded to the Blue Jays for veteran catcher Danny Jansen last July, Batista was excellent in his latest start for Low-A Dunedin on Saturday. The young right-hander earned the win on the road against Fort Myers, scattering four hits and one walk while striking out a career-high of nine over five scoreless innings.

Retiring 13 of the 18 batters he faced on the night, Batista finished with 62 pitches (42 strikes) and induced a game-high 13 swings and misses. The 20-year-old hurler averaged 93.5 mph and reached 95.3 mph with his four-seam fastball, a pitch he threw 25 times. He also featured an 85-88 mph slider (thrown 24 times), an 84-86 mph slider (thrown seven times), a 92-95 mph sinker (thrown three times), and an 84-86 mph changeup (thrown seven times), according to Baseball Savant.

Following Saturday’s outing, Batista now owns a 1.74 ERA and 4.21 FIP with 28 strikeouts to five walks through seven appearances (four starts) for Dunedin this season. Opposing hitters have batted .235 against him. Among 16 qualified pitchers in the Florida State League, he most notably ranks second in walks per nine innings (1.45) and walk rate (4.1 percent), fourth in ERA, sixth in swinging-strike rate (13.4 percent), and eighth in xFIP (3.53), per FanGraphs.

Batista was originally signed by the Red Sox for just $10,000 as an international free agent coming out of the Dominican Republic in November 2022. The 6-foot, 165-pound righty made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League the following June and was later recognized as the organization’s 2023 Latin Program Pitcher of the Year. He opened the 2024 campaign in the Florida Complex League and was promoted to Low-A Salem in late July, though he was dealt to the Blue Jays alongside infielders Cutter Coffey and Eddinson Paulino for Jansen before he could appear in a game for Boston’s Carolina League affiliate.

Since that four-player trade was made, Batista has forged a 2.08 ERA (4.04 FIP) with 77 strikeouts to 21 walks in 11 outings (seven starts) spanning 47 2/3 innings for Dunedin. He is not currently regarded by Baseball America or MLB Pipeline as one of the Blue Jays’ top pitching prospects, but he did receive an honorable mention from FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan last month as a “kitchen sink righty and strike-throwing athlete with below-average present stuff” who could profile as a depth starter in the future.

With that, it should be interesting to see if Batista — who does not turn 21 until next January — can leverage his performance with Dunedin into a promotion to Toronto’s High-A affiliate in Vancouver before long.