Position: RHP
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 205 lbs
Bats/Throws: R/R
Born: 10/11/1998
Country: Dominican Republic
How Acquired: International Free Agent, 2019
Bonus: N/A
40-Man Roster: No
Rule 5 Eligible: Yes
Minor League Free Agency: 2025
Options Left: 3
Overview
The Pirates signed Florencio at age 20. He obviously has very good size. At the time he signed, he threw 88-91 mph, but by 2021 he was sitting at 92-95. He was throwing a slider as his only secondary pitch.
2019-21
The Pirates sent Florencio to Bristol to start his career, which was an ambitious assignment. He spent the season in the rotation, not missing a start. He was pretty shaky, with control and gopher ball problems leading to an opponents’ line of 282/377/481. In 2020, he didn’t pitch due to the pandemic.
In 2021, Florencio spent the season in the Bradenton rotation and seemingly had a breakout year. He fell two-tenths of an inning short of qualifying or he’d have led the league in ERA by a wide margin, and he did lead in strikeouts, fanning 11.1 per nine innings while walking only 2.8. He showed excellent command, missed plenty of bats and held opponents to a 197/277/303 line.
2022-24
In sharp contrast to 2021, Florencio’s 2022 season with Greensboro was a disaster. The Pirates stuck with him through 15 starts and he also made six relief appearances. Opponents battered him for an OPS of 1.001 and his walk rate nearly doubled. His ERA was 8.07. He did not get better as the season went along. To make matters worse, in spring training of 2023 Florencio left a game with a forearm injury and was placed on the full season injured list. Whether he had Tommy John surgery isn’t known, but perhaps the injury had its roots in his bad 2022 season. Florencio missed all of 2023 and then all of 2024 as well.
Stats
Transactions
February 21, 2019: Signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent.