Luis Atilano

Luis A. Atilano

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 218 lb.
• High School Gabriela Mistral High School (Lares)
• Debut April 23, 2010
• Final Game July 20, 2010
• Born May 10, 1985 in Santurce P.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Luis Atilano made his major league debut with the Washington Nationals in 2010.

Atilano was the first pick of the Atlanta Braves in the 2003 amateur draft and the 35th overall selection; the pick was compensation for the loss of Tom Glavine via free agency. He was signed by scout Julian Perez for a $950,000 bonus. Debuting that summer with the GCL Braves, Luis was 3-2 with a 3.83 ERA, walking only 7 in 54 innings. He had the lowest walk rate in the Gulf Coast League. In 2004, Atilano was 5-1 with a 4.20 ERA for the Danville Braves with 10 walks in 64 innings. He was 5th in the Appalachian League in both wins and strikeouts (54). The next season, Atilano had a 8-9, 4.17 record for the Rome Braves. The Santurce native posted a 6-7, 4.50 line for the 2006 Myrtle Beach Pelicans before his season was ended by Tommy John surgery. He was traded to the Washington Nationals for Daryle Ward three weeks later.

Atilano pitched one inning in 2007 while recovering from surgery. He split 2008 between the Potomac Nationals (5-2, 2.32), Hagerstown Suns (3.16) and the Harrisburg Senators (0-1, 1.50), looking to be back in form. In 2009, he pitched for the Senators (7-8, 4.16) and the AAA Syracuse Chiefs (2-0, 2.45 in 2 games). He joined Puerto Rico for the 2009 Baseball World Cup, going 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA as Puerto Rico just missed their first Medal in decades, losing to Team Canada in the Bronze Medal game. He got wins over Spain, Venezuela and Taiwan and tied Norge Vera, Todd Redmond, Lucas Harrell, Yulieski González, Miguel A. González, Yu-Ching Lin and Brad Lincoln for second in the event in wins, one behind Canada's Trystan Magnuson.

After a 2-0, 1.64 start with Syracuse in 2010, Atilano was called up to the majors to replace the injured Jason Marquis. Starting against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first game in The Show, Luis allowed only one run in six innings before giving way to Tyler Clippard and earned the win. He also won his second start, on April 28, against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, giving up 2 earned runs in 6 innings. Atilano hung around for 16 starts in total, allowing 11 long balls in 85 2/3 innings while pitching to a 5.15 ERA. In ,July he underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, ending his season and, ultimately, his big league tenure. He was designated for assignment the following February and kicked around the minors until 2012.

Sources

• 2004-2009 Baseball Almanacs
• 2009 Nationals Media Guide

Related Sites

• Luis Atilano on mlb.com