Ricardo Pinto

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Philadelphia Phillies #24 prospect in 2017
  Just as 2011 was ending, the Phillies signed Pinto for $15,000 as a 17-year-old out of Venezuela. After two years in the Venezuelan Summer League and one in short-season Williamsport, Pinto became the organization's minor league pitcher of the year in 2015. He followed that with a solid Double-A campaign in 2016 and pitched in the Futures Game. Pinto has proven to be a durable starter, throwing 170 innings in 2016 between Double-A Reading and winter ball in Venezuela. Pinto works off his fastball-changeup combination. Both are plus pitches, with his fastball sitting at 91-95 mph and touching 97. He maintains his arm speed on his changeup, an out pitch that keeps hitters off balance. Pinto's strikeout rate is modest because he's still working to find a reliable breaking ball. He's tried a curveball and a slider, focusing more on the slider recently, but both are below-average. He has clean arm action and coordinated delivery that he repeats to throw frequent strikes, though when he elevates the ball hitters can make him pay for mistakes. If Pinto can develop an average breaking pitch, he has a chance to be a back-end starter, with Triple-A Lehigh Valley his next test.
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  Ranked Philadelphia Phillies #11 prospect in 2016
  Pinto has done nothing but improve in his first four pro seasons since signing with the Phillies in 2011. He was the best arm on the staff at short-season Williamsport in 2014 and pitched well enough at low Class A Lakewood and high Class A Clearwater in 2015, going 15-4, 2.97 in 24 stats, to earn the organization's minor league pitcher of the year award. Pinto is armed with three pitches: a fastball, changeup and slider. His fastball, which can hit the mid-90s, and changeup both grade out as plus pitches. His slider lags behind, grading well below-average for most scouts, but can flash a little bit better. Scouts who saw him in 2015 believe his slider can develop enough to earn consistent average grades. If that happens, Pinto could fit in a major league rotation. After a successful 2015 season, as well as time in instructional league, Pinto's next test will come at Double-A Reading in 2016.
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  Ranked Philadelphia Phillies #14 prospect in 2015
  Signed out of Venezuela in 2011, Pinto spent two seasons putting up solid numbers in the Venezuelan Summer League before coming to the U.S. in 2014, when he pitched in extended spring training before joining short-season Williamsport in June. With the Crosscutters, Pinto kept right on performing and emerged as the staff 's best arm. He sports a three-pitch mix of fastball, changeup and slider and employs a drop-and-drive delivery with crossfire action. His high-three-quarters arm slot sometimes drifts toward three-quarters. His fastball generally sits between 93-95 mph and has hit as high as 97 in the past. His changeup is his best secondary offering, sitting at 80-82 mph with excellent deception out of his hand. It projects as above-average, and the Phillies asked him to shelve it in instructional league with the hope of further developing his slider, which shows sharp but inconsistent break and could be average in the future. Pinto also throws a two-seam fastball in the low 90s and shows a willingness to attack the strike zone. He'll spend 2015 as a 21-year-old at low Class A Lakewood.