In this ongoing series that will last most of spring training, we’re going to look at each player that will be in Major League camp with the Cincinnati Reds. Each post will have some information on the player. There will be some background information, profiling, projections, and more. To see all of the posts in the series, you can click here. Today we are going to look at starting pitcher Felix Jorge.
Felix Jorge’s Background
Acquired: Originally signed by Minnesota as a non-drafted free agent in February 2011. Signed by the Reds in January to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training.
Born: 1/2/1994
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Height/Weight: 6′ 2″ / 178 lbs.
Years of MLB Experience: One
The Minnesota Twins signed Felix Jorge as a 17-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2011. He would pitch for their Dominican Summer League team a few months later and then come stateside the following year. He would work his way up through the Twins farm system and make his Major League debut in 2017.
Felix Jorge’s 2018 Season
To say that the 2018 season was a disappointment for Felix Jorge would be an understatement. He began the season on the disabled list with a sprained UCL and later a right flexor mass injury. If those injuries sound familiar, that is basically what Homer Bailey went through when he began experiencing arm troubles. He would come off of the disabled list and make two rehab starts at the complex level of rookie league baseball in late June. They didn’t go as planned, though he didn’t allow an earned run in either appearance, and he went back to the disabled list for the rest of the season.
Felix Jorge’s Playing History
Felix Jorge spent one season playing in the Dominican Summer League – the lowest level of the minor leagues. In 2012 he was brought to the United States by the Twins where he played for their Gulf Coast League rookie team at their spring training complex as an 18-year-old. He performed well, posting a 2.34 ERA in 12 games that season. The next year he moved up to the Appalachian League where he once again had an ERA under 3.00, this time throwing 61.0 innings. It was the 2014 season where he would hit his first stumbling block. He struggled in the first half with Cedar Rapids, posting an ERA of 9.00 as he struggled with control. The Twins sent him back to the Appalachian League at midseason where he recovered nicely in the second half.
In 2015 he returned to Cedar Rapids and dominated as a 21-year-old. He made 23 appearances and posted a 2.79 ERA with 32 walks and 114 strikeouts in 142.0 innings. The next season he would split time in Advanced-A and Double-A where he posted an ERA of 2.69 over 25 starts – walking just 23 batters on the year. In 2017 he would see action in Double-A, Triple-A, and ultimately in the Major Leagues where he made two starts for the Twins. In the minors he had some success, posting a 3.68 ERA in 25 starts. He struggled in his two big league starts, though – posting an ERA of 10.57 and lasting just 7.2 innings between the two games. As noted above, he essentially missed the entirety of the 2018 season with injuries.
Projecting Felix Jorge for 2019
It’s worth noting that he was injured for almost the entirety of the 2018 season, and you don’t really know how a player will recover. With that said, let’s take a look at what the systems have to say about projecting him for 2019.
ZiPS Projections | Steamer Projections | Marcels Projections
How could Felix Jorge fit in Cincinnati in 2019?
With the depth that the Reds have in the rotation, it’s tough to see where Felix Jorge fits in early in 2019. Coming off of an injury that cost him nearly the entire season in 2018, he’s likely going to have something to prove – both for himself, and to the Reds. The odds are strong that he winds up in the minors. But if he pitches like he has in the past he could certainly be on the short list by midseason to come up and fill a role in one area or another if it opens up.