Wilfredo Boscán

Wilfredo José Boscán Fernández

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut May 19, 2016
• Final Game June 21, 2016

• Born October 26, 1989 in Maracaibo, Zulia Venezuela

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Wilfredo Boscán began his professional career in 2007 at 17 years old and got into his major league game nine years later.

He was signed by Texas Rangers scout Jose Luis Montero and performed well his first two years. In his debut, in the pitcher-friendly DSL, he was 2-1 with 9.7 K/9 in 56 2/3 innings for the DSL Rangers 1 in 2007. His 1.75 ERA did not make the league's top 10 list. He went 9-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 69 1/3 frames for the 2008 Spokane Indians, though he was 0-1 in the postseason. He led the Northwest League in wins (3 more than anyone else), was 4th in ERA (between Jonnathan Aristil and Carlos Pimentel) and 4th in strikeouts (70, between Mike Loree and Walter Suriel). Between the two seasons, he was 11-2 with a 2.50 ERA; in 126 innings, he had 131 strikeouts and just 24 walks. He was a Baseball America Short Season All-Star and a Northwest League Post-Season All-Star (as the top right-handed starter) in 2008. Despite posting a 3.59 ERA in 2009 and holding lefties to a .225 average, Boscán had a losing record (6-8) in 2009, thanks to being on a 63-76 team, and his strikeout rate fell to almost half of what it had been previously. He walked only 19 in 105 1/3 innings. As he continued to ascend the low minors into the mid-minors, his struggles continued - between 2010 and 2011, he was 14-29 with a 4.84 ERA. In 304 2/3 innings, he allowed 363 walks with 217 strikeouts. In 2010, he was 9-14 with a 4.67 ERA for the Bakersfield Blaze. The numbers were decent in the hitter-dominant California League. He tied Ethan Martin for most losses, but was 10th in ERA (between future teammates Bobby LaFromboise and Rob Scahill), tied for 9th in wins and 5th in strikeouts (140, between Scahill and Andrew Carraway). He led Rangers farmhands in losses but also tied for 3rd in strikeouts and tied for 7th in wins. In 2011, he was 4-12 with a 4.69 ERA for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and 1-3 with a 6.95 ERA for the Frisco RoughRiders; this time, it was not just a question of a high-offense league. He easily led Rangers farmhands in losses (6 more than Pimentel) and tied for second in the Carolina League (one behind Drake Britton).

With the Aguilas del Zulia of the Venezuelan Winter League in the winter of 2011-2012, he was 4-1 with a 1.71 ERA in his debut in that circuit. Had he qualified, he would have been second in the league in ERA, behind Eric Junge. He did not win Rookie of the Year, which went to Hector Sanchez, who beat him 44 votes to 1. In 2012, he improved to 7-5, 3.75 for Frisco and went 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 11 starts for the Aguilas that winter. He won the Venezuelan League ERA title by .55 over Austin Bibens-Dirkx; Dwayne Pollok won Pitcher of the Year instead (he had 35 first-place votes; Wilfredo was second with five). On December 6, 2012 he was sent to the San Diego Padres as the player to be named later in a deal that sent pitcher Cory Burns to the Rangers. He went 1-4 with a 5.95 mark that year, including a 1-3, 6.70 line in his first taste of Triple A. With Zulia, he was 1-3 with a 2.81 ERA in the regular season and 2-1 with a 4.58 postseason ERA. Signed as a free agent by the Boston Red Sox for 2014, Boscán had a 3.66 ERA, including a 0.00 mark in a brief stint at Triple A Pawtucket (3 2/3 innings). Interestingly, he won both of his Triple A games but was only 1-7 with a save and a 3.88 ERA in 20 games for the Double A Portland Sea Dogs. After struggling with Zulia in the winter (1-2, 6.14 in the regular season; 1.93 ERA in four postseason relief outings), he became a free agent and signed with the Pirates for 2015. He went 10-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 126 innings for the Triple A Indianapolis Indians. He was called up to the Bucs on three different occasions but never got into a game. He was 9th in the International League in ERA (between Scott Copeland and Henry Owens) and was 10th in wins. He then went 2-3 with a 3.32 mark for Zulia over the winter. Moving to the Tiburones de la Guaria for the postseason, he was 1-1 with a 5.19 ERA.

After going 3-4 with a 2.48 mark in seven starts for Indianapolis to begin 2016, he was promoted to the majors. He had the 4th-highest ERA on a dazzling Indians staff, but Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow were top prospects and Super Two status was a consideration for them (Taillon was also coming off surgery). Pittsburgh needed help with a bullpen that had been the best in baseball in 2015 but was among the worst in the NL in early 2016; Wilfredo replaced Cory Luebke on the roster. On May 19th, he made his debut and went two innings in relief against the Atlanta Braves, relieving Jeff Locke with a 8-2 lead in the 8th. He had a fine debut, getting Nick Markakis and Freddie Freeman out then whiffing Jeff Francoeur for a 1-2-3 8th. In the 9th, he got Tyler Flowers swinging, allowed a Gordon Beckham single but got Daniel Castro on a grounder and Kelly Johnson on a fly ball to end the game. H e got his first win on May 23rd, relieving Ryan Vogelsong in the 3rd after Vogelsong had been hit in the head by a pitch. He worked four innings and allowed two runs (both on a Charlie Blackmon double) for a win over the Rockies. He also got his first hit and RBI, singling off Chris Rusin to score Josh Harrison. He was sent back to Indianapolis after going 1-1, 6.46 in 6 games, including one start. On August 4th, he was handed his release when the Pirates had to clear a spot on their 40-man roster in order to reinstate Vogelsong, back from his May 23rd injury, from the 60-day disabled list. He was 6-7, 3.75 in 17 games in Triple A at the time. He did not return to the bigs, seeing time after in the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets organizations, as well as Mexico.

Sources

• 2011 Rangers Media Guide
• 2016 Pirates Media Guide
• El Universal
• 2012-13 LVBP Pitcher of the Year voting
• Pura Pelota

Related Sites

• Wilfredo Boscan on mlb.com