Elio Serrano

Elio Francisco Serrano Hernandez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 265 lb.

• High School U.E. Jacinto Lara

• Born December 4, 1978 in Valencia, Carabobo Venezuela

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Elio Serrano pitched over 600 games as a pro, peaking at AAA. His brother Alex Serrano got to the majors for one game.

Elio debuted in 1996 with the DSL Phillies, going 5-4 with a 4.01 ERA. In 1997, he went 1-5 with a save and a 5.93 ERA for the Martinsville Phillies. He tied for 9th in the Appalachian League in losses. With the 1998 Batavia Muckdogs, he improved to 3-2, 2.55 with a save. He made his Venezuelan League debut with the 1998-1999 Pastora de Los Llanos, going 0-2 with a 7.23 ERA. Back with Batavia in 1999, he was 0-4 with a save and a 4.12 ERA. He went 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA his second winter with Pastora. In 2000, he was 4-2 with 5 saves and a 2.27 ERA for the Piedmont Boll Weevils. He went 4-1 with a 3.29 ERA in 18 games for the 2000-2001 Los Llanos club. He split the summer between the Clearwater Threshers (2-2, Sv, 3.31 in 17 G) and Reading Phillies (1-1, 2 Sv, 2.89 in 30 G). He went 1-2 with a save and a 2.86 ERA for Pastora in 2001-2002.

Making it to AAA at age 23, he turned in a solid campaign for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (1-3, 5 Sv, 2.92 in 43 G, only 17 BB in 71 IP). He split the winter of 2002-2003 between Pastora (0 ER in 7 IP) and the Caribes de Anzoategui (1-1, Sv, 2.59). He led the Venezuelan League with 27 appearances, four ahead of Tim Young. He was claimed on waivers by the Anaheim Angels and went 5-4 with two saves and a 4.72 ERA in 46 games for the 2003 Salt Lake Stingers. He was 2-2 with 14 saves and a 2.45 ERA for the 2003-2004 Caribes. He tied for 7th with 28 games pitched and led in saves, four ahead of Pat Mahomes. The Pittsburgh Pirates signed him as a minor league free agent; down in AA, he sputtered for the Altoona Curve (3-5, 14 Sv, 5.62 in 45 G). Opponents hit .323 off him. He still Jordan De Jong for 9th in the Eastern League in saves

He had an off-winter for Anzoategui (6 Sv, 5.62 ERA). In the summer, he pitched for the Mexican League's Olmecas de Tabasco (0-1, 7.20 in 4 G) and Vaqueros de Laguna (3-4, 3 Sv, 5.27 in 37 G). He went 3-1 with 12 saves and a 3.00 ERA in the winter of 2005-2006. He was third in saves, behind Francisco Butto and Emiliano Fruto. He pitched in 2006 for the Saraperos de Saltillo (0-1, Sv, 2.57 in 7 G) and Potros de Tijuana (5 R in 3 IP, 2 Sv). He went 2-1 with 4 saves and a 5.66 ERA for the 2006-2007 Caribes. After his first summer off, he moved to the Navegantes del Magallanes and had a busy winter (3-0, 2.88 in 31 G). He tied Jose Guanchez for 4th in the league in games pitched. In the 2008 Caribbean Series, he joined the Tigres de Aragua and fared well (1 H, 3 BB, 1 UER in 4 1/3 IP).

Back in Mexico in 2008, he again pitched for two teams, the Guerreros de Oaxaca (1-1, 9.24 in 14 G) and Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (2-3, 17 Sv, 3.09 in 38 G). He was 10th in the Mexican League in saves. With Magallanes in 2008-2009, he went 2-0 with 4 saves and a 4.15 ERA. He tied Richard Salazar for 8th in games pitched (26). Moving to the Tiburones de La Guaira in 2009-2010, he was 4-0 with two saves and a 3.58 ERA in 29 outings. He tied Yoel Hernandez and Edgar Martinez for 6th in games pitched. In the 2010 Caribbean Series, he allowed one run in 3 innings but took the 10th-inning loss to the Naranjeros de Hermosillo when he served up a game-losing single to 42-year-old Vinny Castilla, scoring Heber Gómez. Serrano struggled for Tijuana in 2010 (1-1, 11.49 ERA, 28 H in 15 2/3 IP) and for the Tiburones in 2010-2011 (11 R, 13 H in 7 IP) to end his career. Serrano's 45 career saves in Venezuela were tied Julio Machado for 12th at the time of his retirement; his brother Alex was 2 behind.

Sources include Purapelota