Jorge Rondon

Jorge Leonardo Rondon

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 215 lb.

• Debut June 29, 2014
• Final Game June 21, 2016
• Born February 16, 1988 in Calabozo, Guarico Venezuela

BR page

Biographical Information

Relief pitcher Jorge Rondon was in the St. Louis Cardinals system from 2006 to 2014. He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2012 and the major leagues in 2014.

Rondon was signed in July 2006. He was 0-1 with a save, 6.46 ERA and .317 opponent average in his pro debut that summer with the VSL Cardinals. He returned to the same club in 2007 and went 1-6 with two saves, a 4.74 ERA and .321 opponent average. He was third in the Venezuelan Summer League with 80 hits allowed and tied for second in losses, one behind Jose Calero. In '08, the righty was with the Johnson City Cardinals (2-2, 6 Sv, 4.03, .308 opponent average) and Quad Cities River Bandits (1-0, 3.24, .367 opponent average). He tied Craig Kimbrel and another reliever for 7th in the Appalachian League in saves and tied for third in that loop in games pitched (21). 2009 saw little progress as he was 1-5 with a 4.27 ERA for the River Bandits and 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA for the Palm Beach Cardinals.

With the River Bandits again in 2010, he had a 4-8, 5.30 season. He walked 65 in 108 2/3 IP. He was 7th in the Midwest League in walks and tied for third in hit batsmen. He led Cardinal minor leaguers in free passes. He split 2011 between Palm Beach (1-5, 6 Sv, 4.05 in 21 G) and the Springfield Cardinals (1-5, 7 Sv, 9.16 in 37 G), with 46 walks in 64 IP. He was third in the Cards chain in games pitched (behind Nick Greenwood and Sam Freeman), tied Willy Paulino for 4th in saves and tied Eric Fornataro for first in losses. He made his Venezuelan Winter League debut with the Tigres de Aragua and fared badly (7 H, 3 BB, 6 R in 3 1/3 IP).

Jorge split 2012 between Springfield (2-1, 4 Sv, 3.44 in 33 G) and the Memphis Redbirds (0-1, Sv, 3.60 in 13 G), finally making some progress. He tied Dean Kiekhefer for 9th in the Cardinals system in games pitched and led the Texas League with four balks. He was 0-1 with a 4.80 ERA in 18 games for the 2012-103 Tigres. Baseball America rated him as having the best slider in the Cardinals chain. He continued to develop with the 2013 Redbirds, going 3-5 with a save and a 3.06 ERA though control remained an issue (37 BB, 42 K in 67 2/3 IP). He pitched 51 games, 4th in the St. Louis farm behind Lee Stoppelman, Deryk Hooker and Heath Wyatt. He was 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in 26 games for Aragua in the winter.

Despite having unimpressive minor league numbers through 2013 - his won-loss record is 16-43 (.271 won-loss percentage), he allows more than a hit per inning on average and his ERA is 4.86 - the Cardinals added him to their 40-man roster following the 2013 season, presumably due to his significant progress in 2012 and 2013 and success at AAA.

During the 2014 season, Rondon was called up twice by the Cardinals without appearing in a game, before finally making his major league debut. These stints lasted from April 17-20th and May 13-18th. He was called up again on June 29th and got to pitch in a game that day, with a scoreless inning of relief against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was his only big league appearance of the year.

Sources

• 2013 Cardinals Media Guide
• Purapelota

Related Sites

• Jorge Rondon on mlb.com
• BR Minors Page