MLB Rookie Report: Albert Suarez, RHP, San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants promoted 26-year-old right-hander Albert Suarez to the major league roster Friday. Albert Suarez is not to be confused with (no-relation) Andrew Suarez, another Giants pitching prospect with a much higher profile. Let's take a look at Albert.

Suarez is from Venezuela, signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as a free agent in 2007. He never received much notice in their system but moved steadily up the ladder, used mainly as a starter and reaching Double-A in 2014 with undistinguished results (4.34 ERA, 32/19 K/BB in 56 innings, 67 hits). He signed with the Los Angeles Angels as a minor league free agent for 2015 and performed well for Double-A Arkansas (2.98 ERA, 121/40 K/BB in 163 innings, 140 hits), by far his best performance as a pro.

The Giants picked Suarez up as a free agent and sent him to Triple-A Sacramento for 2016, his first exposure at that level. It has gone well thus far: 25 innings over three starts and two relief outings, 15/7 K/BB, 24 hits, 2.88 ERA. Small sample, but very credible for his first run through the Pacific Coast League.

Suarez is a 6-3, 235 pound right-hander. Scouting information on him is sparse and I haven't seen him myself yet, but a vague report picked up from the 2015 Texas League stated he was a control pitcher with an average fastball and a pretty good slider in the low 80s. Sabermetrically his best asset is a low walk rate but his strikeout rate is also low, which would fit the report of non-elite stuff. At this point he profiles as the 11th man on a staff, someone who can be a long reliever, mop-up man, and emergency starter.

In this Milb.com video, Suarez gets Hunter Renfroe to chase a breaking ball.