Joey DeNato

Joey DeNato

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 10", Weight 175 lb.

• School Indiana University Bloomington
• High School Torrey Pines High School

• Born March 17, 1992 in San Diego, CA USA

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Joey DeNato peaked at AAA and played for Team USA.

DeNato was 4-1 as a high school freshman, 7-1 with a 1.10 ERA as a sophomore, 7-1 with a 3.25 ERA as a junior and 10-2 with a 1.15 ERA and 97 K in 73 IP as a senior. His senior year, he also hit .364 with 9 homers, 25 steals in 27 tries and no errors in the field. He was named a high school All-American by Collegiate Baseball. As a college freshman, he won 7 games with a 2.80 ERA and led the Big Ten Conference with 12 pick-offs. He made All-Big Ten, the only freshman chosen. He was 7-3 with a 3.41 ERA for Indiana University Bloomington in 2012, and he went 10-2 with a 2.52 ERA in 2013. He led the Big Ten in wins and strikeouts (87) that year and was second with 7 pick-offs. He improved to 13-1 with a 1.82 ERA in 2014, and he was named the Pitcher of the Year of the Big Ten Conference. He set a school record for wins in a season and in a career.

The Philadelphia Phillies then took him in the 19th round of the 2014 Amateur Draft, scouted by David Seifert. He was 2-1 with a 1.38 ERA for the Lakewood BlueClaws while recording a 3.18 ERA in 8 games for the Williamsport Crosscutters. DeNato then notched 10 saves with a solid 1.24 ERA in 43 appearances in Lakewood in 2015, and he also pitched 3 games with a 7.71 ERA for the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He tied for 4th in the South Atlantic League in games pitched. Among Phillies minor leaguers, he tied Alexis Rivero and Adam Loewen for 6th in saves and tied Ulises Joaquin for 5th in appearances.

The San Diego native represented the USA in the 2015 Premier 12. He pitched 1 1/3 shutout innings to get the win against the Dominican Republic, and he recorded another 2/3 of an inning, with a strikeout against Yong-kyu Lee of South Korea. His ERA rose to 4.97 in 33 relief outings for the Clearwater Threshers in 2016, and he allowed 3 runs in 6 innings for the Reading Fightin Phils. DeNato recorded a solid 1.09 ERA in 22 games in Reading in 2017, but he surrendered 13 runs in 18 games for the IronPigs. He only pitched 5 more games before the Phillies released him in May 2018, and his professional career ended.