Antonio Menendez

Antonio Delano Menendez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 215 lb.
• School Wake Forest University
• High School Herndon (VA) High School

• Born March 11, 1999 in Reston, VA USA

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Antonio Menendez has pitched in the minors and for Team USA.

As a 12-year-old, he began throwing submarine in addition to sidearm and in a traditional motion; his coach, Billy Wagner, told him to maintain the variety to throw off hitters; he kept that up into the pro ranks, primarily throwing submarine. As a college freshman, he struggled at 0-5 with a 9.99 ERA and 1.85 WHIP. He improved to 6-1 with a save and a 3.09 ERA in 34 games as a sophomore, striking out 73 in 55 1/3 IP. He was 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference in appearances. In the Cape Cod League, he was 0-2 with a 3.72 ERA.

Starting 2020 1-0 with a 5.06 ERA, the season then ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He wound up having Tommy John surgery and would not pitch in college again. The Tampa Bay Rays still took him in the 14th round of the 2021 amateur draft, one pick before Jordan Leasure. He signed for a $100,000 bonus. The scout was Joe Hastings. He made his pro debut the next summer and did well with the FCL Rays (0-1, 2.57 in 3 G), Charleston RiverDogs (2-0, Sv, 0.83 in 11 G; 29 K in 21 2/3 IP) and Bowling Green Hot Rods (3 R, 11 K in 8 1/3 IP, 3 Sv). He was 1-0 with a 4.73 ERA for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League but issued 15 walks in 13 1 /3 innings.

In 2023, he was with Bowling Green (2-0, 2 Sv, 4.70 in 22 G) and the Montgomery Biscuits (1-0, 4 Sv, 2.25 in 16 G). He tied for 9th in the Rays chain in appearances. In 2024, he was 6-3 with a 3.14 ERA for Montgomery, fanning 79 in 63 IP, though he walked 35. He tied Michael Gomez for 9th in the Tampa Bay farm system in games pitched (39). He then was with the US for the 2024 Premier 12; in a shaky bullpen, he was one of their more reliable hurlers. He debuted against the Dutch national team, relieving Casey Lawrence with one out in the 4th, a 5-2 lead, two on and one out. He got out of the jam by inducing a double play from Denzel Richardson and struck out Eugene Helder to open the 5th. He wound up going 2 1/3 shutout (3 H, 0 BB, 2 K) for the win over Kaj Timmermans; Spencer Patton took over for him. In relief of Rich Hill, he got the victory over Mexico's Luis Miranda. After giving up a run in an inning against champion Taiwan in the semifinals (a 8-2 US loss so his moundmates were no better), he was back in the Bronze Medal Game versus Venezuela. He replaced Touki Toussaint in the 5th with a 2-0 lead, one on and no outs. He struck out MLB veteran Carlos Pérez, one of the event's top sluggers, then Jermaine Palacios flew into a double play. After he struck out Dixon Machado to begin the 6th, Cam Vieaux came in. The US held on for a 6-5 win. He led the Bronze Medal winners in victories, tying Hyeong-jun So, Chihiro Sumida and Ricardo Pinto for third in the tourney (one shy of Yi Chang and Haruto Inoue).