Enyelbert Soto

From BR Bullpen

Enyelbert Noriel Soto

  • Bats Left, Throws Left
  • Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Enyelbert Soto went from pitching in one of Italy's minor leagues to Japan's top league in the span of a year.

Soto debuted in 2000 in the Dominican Summer League and did not play in the US in 2001-2002. In the winter, he appeared for the Navegantes del Magallanes. In 2000-2001, he allowed one run in 1 2/3 IP for them. In 2001-2002, he had a 1.80 ERA in 12 relief outings. In 2002-2003, he was rocked for a 13.50 ERA between Magallanes and Pastora de Los Llanos. In 2003, the 20-year-old pitched for Venoco in the Venezuelan Summer League and did very well with a 6-4 record, 1.24 ERA and 5 saves. He walked just 6 in 51 innings. He was third in the Venezuelan Summer League in ERA, behind Ivan Blanco and Jose Mijares. In winter ball, he was 1-3 with a 4.50 ERA for Los Llanos.

That performance earned the left-hander a trip to the US in 2004. He spent most of the year with the Greeneville Astros and was dominant again (1-1, 13 Sv, 1.03, 47 K, 2 BB in 35 IP); he also allowed one run in two innings for the Tri-City ValleyCats. He tied Frank Mata for the Appalachian League lead in both games pitched (23) and saves. Soto was named the Appalachian League All-Star reliever. He allowed 3 earned runs in 5 2/3 IP for Pastora in the winter of 2004-2005. The lefty did not duplicate his '04 success in 2005, which he split between Tri-City (12 K, 5 R, 4 ER in 10 IP, 0-1) and the Lexington Legends (2-1, 2 Sv, 4.44, .327 opponent average, 2 BB in 26 1/3 innings). Soto tossed one scoreless inning for Los Llanos that winter.

In the summer of 2006, the Maracaibo native rebounded with the Salem Avalanche. He was 2-3 with a save and a 1.75 ERA in 44 outings, giving up one homer in 56 2/3 innings. He had the lowest ERA on a team with future major leaguers Troy Patton, Felipe Paulino, Chad Reineke and Jimmy Barthmaier. He fell to 0-1, 7.71 that winter with Pastora and would be out of the Venezuelan League for the next three winters.

Enyelbert split 2007 between Salem (3-2, Sv, 2.75) and the Corpus Christi Hooks (1-0, 10.00, 16 H, 13 BB in 9 IP), ending his time in the Houston Astros chain. He pitched in Mexico in 2008, then signed with Codogno in Italy's Serie A2 in 2009. He dominated that Italian minor league, going 9-2 with a 0.81 ERA, .159 opponent average and 208 strikeouts in 122 1/3 IP. He easily led Serie A2 in both strikeouts and ERA, while tying for 4th in wins and leading in opponent average. The next year, he was even better at 13-1, 0.92 with 210 K in 108 innings, allowing only 57 hits. He again led in ERA and strikeouts (in the latter category, beating out former major leaguer Marino Salas) and possibly tied for the win lead. He returned to Magallanes that winter and was 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA.

Soto tried out with Japan's Chunichi Dragons in 2011. Despite having not pitched above AA in the US and not having made the Italian Baseball League, the team was impressed with the Venezuelan and signed him for $70,000. He was promoted from the minors in May, making his debut on May 28 with a shutout 9th. He finished the season 5-1 with a 1.73 ERA. Had he qualified, he would have been third in the league in ERA behind teammate Kazuki Yoshimi and Tetsuya Utsumi. Soto was not used in the 2011 Japan Series, which Chunichi lost in 7 games.

Sources[edit]

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