Xavier Batista

Xavier Alexander Batista García

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 190 lb.

• Born January 18, 1992 in San Pedro de Macoris D.R.

BR register page

Biographical Information

Xavier Batista has played in the Dominican Republic, USA, Japan, Mexico and Taiwan. He has been on the Dominican national team.

Batista was first signed by Chicago Cubs scouts Jose Serra and Marino Encarnacion in 2009. He hit .241/.333/.409 for the 2009 DSL Cubs 1 but fielded .909 in right, with nine errors. He tied Juan Silverio for 8th in the Dominican Summer League in homers (8). In 2010, he came stateside but slipped to .212/.263/.300 for the AZL Cubs, though his fielding improved to .946. He split 2011 between the DSL Cubs 1 and DSL Cubs 2, batting .259/.371/.372 with 10 homers in 67 games. He was 4th in the DSL in dingers. He again struggled in the US, at .198/.283/.335 for the 2012 Boise Hawks. His Cubs tenure ended when he batted .246/.374/.420 for the AZL Cubs.

He was next signed by the Hiroshima Carp. He spent 2016 in the minor Western League, batting .243/.307/.419. He hit .367/.439/.757 there in 2017 with 21 long balls and 49 RBI in 48 games. Despite playing only half the season, he tied Naomasa Yohkawa for the WL homer lead and was 4th in RBI. He got called up to the big club and homered in his first two at-bats, the first one off Takahiro Matsunaga. He was the third NPB player to homer in his first two at-bats, after Yoshinori Yamamura and Shinichi Murakami, and the first foreigner to do so. He finished at .256/.336/.560 with 11 homers in 61 games for the Carp.

The San Pedro de Macoris native made his Dominican Winter League debut with the Leones del Escogido in 2017-2018, going 1-for-9 with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts. Back with Hiroshima in 2018, he batted .242/.308/.546 with 25 HR in 273 AB, backing up Ryuhei Matsuyama at first base and also playing the outfield. Despite not being a starter, he was third on the club in homers, behind Yoshihiro Maru and Seiya Suzuki. He was one homer shy of making the Central League top 10, behind José López and Dayán Viciedo. In the 2018 Japan Series, he was 2 for 9 with a run as Hiroshima fell to the Softbank Hawks.

He hit .269/.350/.513 with 26 homers in 372 AB in 2019, taking Hiroya Shimamoto deep for the last homer of the Heisei Era. He fielded .995 at first base. He again missed the CL top ten in homers by one, just behind Maru. His time in Japan came to an ignominious end when he tested positive for usage of performance-enhancing steroids and was suspended then released. He was 8-for-59 with no extra-base hits and four walks between two Dominican League teams in 2019-2020.

In 2021, he found another chance, playing for two Mexican League teams and hitting .296/.357/.573 with 19 homers and 57 RBI in 66 games. He was one homer behind LMB leader Rainel Rosario and tied Japhet Amador for second in RBI (15 behind Leandro Castro). That earned him a second shot in Asia, but he hit only .157/.250/.255 in 18 games for the Fubon Guardians in the 2022 CPBL. He returned to Mexico, splitting action between three teams in 2023 and producing at a .249/.333/.530 clip with 23 homers and 61 RBI in 79 games. He trailed only Kyle Martin and Aderlin Rodríguez in homers.

Xavier then played for the Dominicans in the 2023 Pan American Games. He and Darlin Germán alternated at 1B and DH. He grounded out against Panama's Steven Fuentes his first time up and got his first hit off Jesús Cruz. He finished 3-for-9 with 4 walks, a run and a RBI and handled 15 chances error-free.