Avelino Asprilla

Avelino Asprilla Padilla

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 170-190 lb.

• Born January 1, 1981 in Calidonia Panama

BR register page

Biographical Information

Avelino Asprilla has played for Panama in several international events and also spent 8 seasons in the minor leagues. He never made it to AA.

Asprilla was a member of Panama's junior national team before signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Asprilla began his pro career in 1999 with the VSL Pirates, hitting .337/.408/.454 with 30 steals in 41 tries. He led the Venezuelan Summer League in triples (5), was 6th in average and 2nd in steals, 2 behind teammate Juan Mora. In 2000, he was promoted to the DSL Pirates, where he batted .336 (9th in the Dominican Summer League) and stole 37 bases.

In 2001, Avelino came stateside with the Williamsport Crosscutters, hitting .257/.285/.344 in 56 games with 9 steals in 12 tries. During 2002, he bounced around in a utility role, playing for Williamsport (.224/.261/.388 in 24 games; 1 double, 2 triples, 3 home runs being an odd stat line), the Hickory Crawdads (.250/.305/.335, 7 SB in 9 tries in 54 games) and the Lynchburg Hillcats (2 for 12, BB, 4 R). He split time between second and short primarily, but also saw action at third base and in the outfield.

Asprilla bounced around a lot in 2003 as well, playing for Lynchburg (.208/.225/.264 in 33 games), Hickory (.344/.417/.594 in 10 games) and the GCL Pirates (.427/.462/.714, 11 R, 11 RBI in 9 games). He was Panama's second baseman in the 2003 Baseball World Cup and batted .268/.286/.439 with 9 runs and 10 games. He was 1 for 3 in the Gold Medal game loss to Cuba; still, Panama won its first Silver Medal in the history of the Baseball World Cup.

Asprilla spent all of 2004 with Lynchburg and hit .283/.318/.405 as their main third baseman. His 9 homers were second on the club to Brad Eldred. He led Carolina League third sackers in putouts (79), assists (246) and double plays (21).

Avelino was back with Lynchburg for the 2005 campaign, producing at a .269/.323/.424 clip, his best season in high-A ball. He again was the Hillcats' starting third baseman. In 2006, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies organization and split time between the Lakewood BlueClaws (.242/.299/.361 in 99 games) and Clearwater Threshers (.293/.341/.415 in 14 games). It was his last minor league season.

Asprilla was one of Panama's top performers in the 2007 Pan American Games, going 4 for 11 with a double, homer and 2 RBI; only Audes De León had a better average or more hits for Panama and no one else homered. Asprilla tied De León and Freddy Herrera for the team lead in RBI. He went 2 for 13 as Panama's main third baseman in the 2007 Baseball World Cup.

Asprilla hit .235/.278/.294 for Panama in the 2008 Americas Baseball Cup. He is on Panama's roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, appearing in two games as a defensive sub but not batting.

Sources

• IBAF
• Baseballdecuba.com
• 2000-2007 Baseball Almanacs
• Unofficial Pirates email list