Emmanuel Ávila

Jesús Emmanuel Ávila (Iron Man)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 205 lb.

• Born November 26, 1988 in Los Mochis, Sinaloa Mexico

BR register page

Biographical Information

Emmanuel Ávila has played pro ball for three decades and won Gold with the Mexican national team.

He was originally signed by the Chicago White Sox. He made his pro debut with the 2006 VSL Orioles/White Sox, hitting .265/.411/.363 with 24 walks in 37 games. In 2007, he came stateside, but slipped to .195/.270.241 for the Bristol White Sox, backing up Oney Guillen at second. He hit .271/.300/.328 for the 2008 Great Falls Voyagers and .261/.321/.350 for them in 2009. In '08, he led Pioneer League second basemen in fielding percentage at .978.

For his hometown Cañeros de Los Mochis, he was 2 for 21 with a triple and a walk in the 2009-2010 Mexican Pacific League. His time in the Sox chain over, he moved to the Diablos Rojos del México in 2010 and batted .273/.314/.409 in 43 contests, only getting 70 plate appearances in that time. He backed up Henry Mateo, Oscar Robles and Carlos Valencia at second base. In the winter, he hit .243/.329/.343 for Los Mochis, primarily backing up Ramon Orantes at third base.

In 2011, he hit .259/.288/.429 for the Diablos Rojos, backing up Valencia at 2B and José Castillo at third. He was at .272/.337/.348 for the 2011-2012 Cañeros and had claimed the starting third base job at age 24. He was seeing increased time with the Diablos Rojos in '12 - 152 PA over 60 games, hitting .266/.311/.360 - while being used in a utility role. In winter ball, he batted .232/.305/.359. Moving to the Guerreros de Oaxaca, he fielded .968 as their starting shortstop in 2013 and hit .300/.336/.458 with 31 doubles, 73 runs and 70 RBI in 111 games, starting to hit his stride. He tied Rubén Mateo for 7th in the Mexican League in two-baggers.

Remaining effective in the winter, he hit .311/.363/.458 with 6 homers in 225 AB. He was 4th in the LMP in average (between Rolando Acosta and José Aguilar. He hit .329/.393/.511 with 27 doubles and 88 runs in his return to the Diablos Rojos in 2014, while fielding .951 at third. He tied Jesus Fabela and Roman Pena for 4th in triples (6) and tied Luis Borges for third in runs. For Los Mochis in 2014-2015, he had a batting line of .259/.321/.326. He was back at it for the '15 Diablos Rojos, producing at a .330/.394/.488 clip.

With the 2015-2016 Cañeros, he hit .290/.345/.406 then followed with a .325/.375/.406 summer. He had an off-winter in '16-'17 (.196/.223/.299) but returned to form in 2017 (.318/.359/.456). Switching winter clubs for the first time, he hit .243/.298/.322 for the Yaquis de Obregón, fielding .955 at third. In 2018, the Mexican League went to a two-season format. He hit .327/.372/.462 in the spring and .330/.414/.425 for the fall. He then endured his second rocky winter in three years, going 5-for-29 with a walk and a double for the Yaquis.

Rebounding in the summer, he hit .367/.438/.544 for the Diablos Rojos, with 16 homers, 73 runs and 76 RBI while fielding .976 at third base. He was 7th in average (between Fabela and Ronnier Mustelier) and 8th in OBP (between Francisco Peguero and Mustelier). He hit .238/.316/.300 for the Algodoneros de Guasave in the winter of 2019-2020. After the 2020 Mexican League season was cancelled due to COVID-19, he batted .279/.335/.341 for Guasave in 2020-2021.

When the Liga returned in the summer of 2021, he hit his usual .300 at .311/.377/.455, fielding .974 at third and also seeing action at short. He then switched teams yet again for the winter, now joining the Tomateros de Culiacán. He hit .265/.337/.333 for them with only 2 steals in 13 tries. He batted .345/.436/.508 for the 2022 Diablos Rojos with 60 runs in 75 games. In the winter, he hit .244/.313/.305 for the Tomateros.

Ávila split 2023 between the Diablos Rojos (.292/.370/.313 in 14 G) and Oaxaca (.267/.343/.353 in 52 G) and also appeared for Mexico in the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games. He grounded out against Cuba's Carlos Juan Viera his first time up then doubled off Viera to drive in Fernando Villegas Jr. the next time. He hit a three-run homer off Nicaragua's Osman Gutiérrez later in the event. As the starting third baseman for Mexico, he hit .389/.421/.611 with 8 RBI in 6 games, though he fielded .778; Mexico won Gold for the first time in a senior international baseball tournament, 97 years after their debut. He tied for 10th in hits and tied Roel Santos and Adrian Valerio for second in RBI (5 behind Villegas). In representing Mexico, he followed the biggest Avila in Mexican baseball annals, Bobby Ávila. He remained with Mexico for the 2023 Pan American Games, rapping three hits in their opening win.