Angel Guzman

Angel Moises Guzman

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 195 lbs.

• Debut April 26, 2006
• Final Game September 8, 2009
• Born December 14, 1981 in Caracas, Distrito Capital Venezuela

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Biographical Information

The brother of the late Dan Guzman, pitcher Angel Guzman was signed by scout Hector Ortega for the Chicago Cubs in November 1999. He made his pro debut the next summer, going 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA for La Pradera in the Venezuelan Summer League. In 2001, he led a strong staff for the Boise Hawks, going 9-1 with a 2.23 ERA, 19 walks and 63 K in 77 IP. He was second in the Northwest League in ERA, trailing Jesse Foppert and led the league in wins. He made the league All-Star team as the righty starter; the lefty was Dontrelle Willis, a teammate. He was rated the #4 prospect in the league according to Baseball America, two spots ahead of Willis.

Guzman made two dominating stints in the Chicago Cubs chain in 2002, going 5-2 with a 1.89 ERA for the Lansing Lugnuts and 6-2, 2.39 with the Daytona Cubs. He was the #13 prospect in the Midwest League and #11 in the Florida State League per Baseball America. In 2003, Angel went 3-3 with a 2.81 ERA for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, striking out 87 and walking 26 in 90 innings of work. He was rated the 9th-best prospect in the Southern League and picked to perform in the 2003 Futures Game but was unable to do so when he injured his right shoulder, cutting his year short. The 2004 season was basically a lost one - he had a 5.60 ERA and 0-3 record for West Tenn and 3-1, 4.20 for Daytona in a total of 11 starts. The next year saw even less usage as he threw in four games for the AZL Cubs (with 17 Ks and one walk in 12 IP) and two for the Peoria Chiefs.

Angel finally made it to AAA three years after his AA debut with the 2006 Iowa Cubs. He finished 4-4 with a 4.04 ERA in Iowa and made his first 15 appearances in the majors for the Cubs, going 0-6 with a 7.31 ERA and 60 punch outs in 56 innings. He saw his last big league action in 2009 and tore up his shoulder prior to the 2010 season, losing the entire year.

On April 20, 2012, Guzman was handed a 50-game suspension for a second violation of baseball's drug policy while playing for the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes; he had signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization the previous offseason.

Guzman was pitching coach of the VSL Cubs in 2014.

Primary sources: 2001-2006 Baseball Almanacs, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database