RONALD BELISARIO

12/31/82; NDFA '99 (Florida); Venezuela
R/R; 6-2, 200

Level
W-L-Sv
G
GS
IP
H
 HR
BB
K
 BB/9 K/9 WHIP OAVG
ERA
2000 VSL (Fla)
2-3-6
17
5
35.1
37
 1
18
27
 4.58 6.88

1.56

 .253
7.39
2001 R (Fla)
4-6-0
13
10
73.1
62
 4
20
54
 2.47 6.66 1.12 .229
2.34
2002 A- (Fla)
6-5-0
23
22
140.1
131
 4
56
98
 3.59 6.29 1.33 .247
3.46
2003 A+ (Fla)
1-2-0
6
4
18.1
20
 0
8
13
 3.93 6.38 1.53 .278
4.91
2003 A (Fla)
5-1-0
10
8
48.0
41
 3
18
45
 3.38 8.44 1.23 .229
3.00
2004 AA (Fla)
3-5-0
15
15
73.0
75
 10
43
58
 5.30 7.15 1.62 .279
5.55
2004 A+ (Fla)
1-1-1
6
0
9.0
2
 0
6
7
 5.20 7.27 0.81 .071
0.00
2004 R (Fla)
0-0-0
2
0
2.0
1
 0
0
2
 0.00 9.00 0.50 .167
0.00
2005-06 INJURED
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
2007 AA
1-0-0
18
0
24.2
23
 4
14
21
 5.11
7.66
1.50
.245
3.28
2007 A+
0-3-4
19
0
34.1
38
 5
13
19
 3.41
4.98
1.49
.281
4.46
2008 AA
4-4-9
38
0
57.0
63
5
25
36
3.95
5.68
1.54
.286
4.74

Belisario—whose name is spelled by some sources as "Belizario"—seemed like an interesting project for the Pirates, who signed him as a free agent. While with Florida, he was highly regarded for his arm strength, as he threw in the mid- to upper-90s, although his other pitches needed work. He also had an extensive history of attitude problems. I don't know what injury or injuries he suffered that kept him out for two years, but he was in the Venezuelan Winter League at the time the Pirates signed him. He started the season on the minor league disabled list and then was assigned to Lynchburg. He didn't pitch well there, but did better after being moved up to Altoona. It may just have been a matter of needing time after the long layoff. He had a good K rate in AA but obviously had control problems. He had a large platoon split in AA—LH batters had an OPS over .900 against him, 300 points higher than RH batters. Surprisingly, the Pirates added him to the 40-man roster after the season. The team's decision to add Belisario and Olivo Astacio to the roster, and to claim Jimmy Barthmaier off waivers, may show a change in philosophy under Neal Huntington toward pitchers with power arms rather than the soft-tossers favored under Dave Littlefield.

In 2008, Belisario was assigned to AA early in spring training and spent the year there, much of it as the closer. He got off to a bad start and then missed most of May. After that he was largely mediocre. He made some strides with his control, although not enough, but he was more hittable than a guy with good stuff should be and his K rate was low. He had a reverse platoon split this time. His velocity was mainly in the low 90s, as opposed to what it was with Florida. The Pirates may still regard him as a project, but he should be a candidate to come off the 40-man roster. If he's still around, he'll probably go back to AA.

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