Wander Guante Finds Success Following Demotion
2 years agoOakland Athletics minor league pitcher Wander Guante hasn't made much of a progression through affiliated ball since turning pro. He reached Single-A in 2021 and opened this season in Double-A, but he's now back down to rookie ball and, quite frankly, doesn't have the greatest numbers. If there are any metrics to praise, they would be Guante's zero walks allowed through 13.1 innings in the Arizona Complex League, as well as his impressive 51.4 percent ground-ball rate at the same level. However, he struggled mightily in Double-A and has only made four outings in all of 2022. Ignoring Guante's small sample size and poor stats, we must talk about his performance this past week. He tossed five scoreless innings on Thursday, allowing just one hit and zero walks. He also struck out a whopping eight batters in the process. This outing isn't enough to singlehandedly earn him a promotion, but Guante is proving that he deserves another shot in the lower levels of affiliated ball.
Source: Fangraphs
Source: Fangraphs