Jairo Pineda

Jairo R. Pineda

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 180 lb.

• Born September 25, 1976 in Granada Nicaragua

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Jairo Pineda pitched for several years in the minor leagues.

Pineda split 1998 between the GCL Astros (2-6, 3.93, 83 K in 73 1/3 IP) and the Auburn Doubledays (1 R in 6 IP). He led the '98 Gulf Coast League in strikeouts, innings and hit batsmen (10). In 1999, Jairo excelled for Auburn (9-2, 2.88, 70 H in 84 1/3 IP) but struggled with the Michigan Battle Cats (0-2, 8.84, 30 H in 19 2/3 IP). He was 6th in the New York-Penn League in ERA, between Joe Kennedy and Frank Brooks.

Pineda was chosen by the Detroit Tigers in the AA portion of the 1999 Rule V Draft that winter. He was assigned to the 2000 West Michigan Whitecaps, where he became a reliever. He went 5-2 with a save and a 3.04 ERA, holding opponents to a .215 average.

Pineda was out of action in 2001 but returned in 2002 with the Lakeland Tigers, going 2-5 with five saves and a 3.32 ERA in 33 outings. He allowed over a hit per inning and walked nearly as many as he struck out.

Pineda was with Nicaragua for the 2003 Pan American Games (0 ER in 4 2/3 IP, saving Oscar Torres' 2-0 win over the Dominican Republic which boasted mostly former major leaguers) and the 2003 Baseball World Cup (posting a 4.66 ERA with two saves in four games). He surfaced briefly in the 2004 Mexican League, going 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA for the Campeche Pirates.

The right-hander allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings for Nicaragua in the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. He went 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in the 2006 COPABE Olympic qualifiers. In the 2007 Pan American Games, he was shelled for four hits and two runs in 1 1/3 innings, losing his only decision for the Bronze Medal winners and posting the club's highest ERA. It should be noted that the team that roughed him up was the mighty Cuban national team.

Pineda surrendered 3 runs in 3 innings of relief against Panama in the 2008 Americas Baseball Cup but was excellent in his next outing, relieving Carlos Perez to open the 5th and tossing five perfect innings against the Brazilian national team; he combined with Perez on a no-hit shutout. His 3.38 ERA still ranked second-highest on the staff, ahead of only Douglas Arguello.