William Ponce

William Alexander Ponce

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.

• Born February 9, 1984 in San Salvador El Salvador

BR register page

Biographical Information

William Ponce pitched in the minors and for the Salvadoran national team.

Ponce was the second Salvadoran pitcher signed by a MLB organization, following Wilmer Villatoro, when the San Diego Padres signed him. He was 1-4 with a 8.47 ERA and 2.29 WHIP for the 2002 Idaho Falls Padres. He was 9th in the Pioneer League with 33 walks. With the same team a year later, he was 1-11 with a 7.07 ERA, his WHIP down a bit to 1.89. He led the league in losses (two more than Jordan Pratt), tied for second in starts (15), was 4th in hits allowed (98, between David Cuen and Sean Tracey), was second to Cuen with 55 earned runs allowed and was 5th in walks (34).

He still moved up to the Eugene Emeralds in 2004 but the 20-year-old's numbers weren't much better (1-9, 5.97). He led the Northwest League in defeats (one ahead of John Tetuan), was 5th in earned runs (44) and tied for 8th in walks (33). His numbers kept improving in 2005, when he had a 2-1, 4.15 record out of the bullpen for Eugene. Despite having made strides every season, his cumulative 5-25, 6.56 record as a pro led to that being his final season.

The right-hander remained active in El Salvador. He made their team for the 2017 Bolivarian Games, their first Bolivarian Games appearance in baseball. After they dropped their first three games, he was masterful (2 H, 1 BB, 0 R in 8 IP) to beat Peru's Jonathan Farías; Eduardo Palacios closed out the shutout. He thus got the first Salvadoran win in a Bolivarian Games. He also led the team with 5 whiffs. He also pitched in the 2017 Central American Games, again doing well as he allowed one run in eight to beat Guillermo Valdez and Guatemala; Jhonny Bautista wrapped up that one. He tied Omar Guzmán for 8th in the Games in ERA, helping his team win Bronze.