Jesús Tinoco

Jesus Rafael Tinoco Veliz

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 190 lb.

• Debut May 31, 2019

• Born April 30, 1995 in San Antonio de Maturin, Monagas, Venezuela

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Jesus Tinoco was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as a 17-year-old out of Venezuela before the 2012 season. he played that year with the DSL Blue Jays and GCL Blue Jays, combining for a record of 1-5, 4.40 in 14 games. In 2013, he was back with the GCL Blue Jays, pitching 12 games including 9 starts with a record of 0-5, 509. He totaled 46 innings of work, during which he allowed 49 hits and 21 walks but also struck out 45 opponents. he had rather similar numbers for the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League in 2014, with a record of 1-9, a 4.95 ERA, 56 1/3 innings, 62 hits, 20 walks and 47 strikeouts. In 2015, he moved to full season Class A ball with the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. In 15 starts there, he went 2-6, 3.54 with 68 Ks in 81 1/3 innings. Even though his professional won/loss mark to that point was only 4-25, he had showed enough promise to be coveted by other teams, and on July 28th, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies as part of the blockbuster deal that saw shortstops Troy Tulowitzki and Jose Reyes switch teams. Veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins moved to Toronto in the trade, and fellow young pitchers Miguel Castro and Jeff Hoffman joined Jesus in moving to the Rockies.

He was named to the World team for the 2018 Futures Game. He made his major league debut with the Rockies on May 31, 2019, facing his former team the Toronto Blue Jays. He gave up a hit and struck out two batters in a scoreless inning that closed out a 13-4 win.

On October 4, 2022, pitching for the Texas Rangers, he gave up Aaron Judge's 62nd homer of the season, which broke the American League record; Judge had been tied at 61 with Roger Maris until then. Judge was the first batter of the game, the second game of a doubleheader at Globe Life Field and he was the opener in the game in what was only his second start of the season. He only pitched the 1st inning, giving up two more hits and a walk, but no other run, before giving way to Kolby Allard, who received credit for Texas's 3-2 win. The homer aside, Tinoco was having a good season, with an ERA of 2.17 in 17 games and just 12 hits and 10 walks allowed in 20 2/3 innings.

Further Reading

• Kennedi Landry: "'Hats off to him': Tinoco serves up Judge's historic No. 62", mlb.com, October 5, 2022. [1]

Related Sites

• Jesus Tinoco on mlb.com
• BR Minors page