LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Manny Banuelos has just about seen it all in his professional baseball career.
From can't-miss prospect with the Yankees in 2011 to Tommy John surgery in 2013 followed by rehab, a season of innings limitations and a trade to the Braves for two bullpen pieces, the bright star that once illuminated Banuelos has faded from supernova status just four years ago.
But no one is ready to call Banuelos a washed up prospect just yet; especially not Banuelos, who is more than eager to take the last four seasons that were his personal holding pattern and put them behind him. He's ready to step into the big leagues, and he has one huge plus going for him.
Even though Banuelos has seen as many highs and lows as many of baseball's elder statesmen, the young Mexican is only 23 years old (he'll turn 24 before the team breaks camp). Banuelos has age on his side.
When the Braves traded Dan Carpenter and Chasen Shreve on New Year's Day for Banuelos, he joined a group of pitchers that would eventually assemble to be at least five to six competitors strong. Banuelos will battle Mike Foltynewicz, James Russell, Wandy Rodriguez, Eric Stults and Chien-Ming Wang for the right to follow up an extremely solid front four that includes Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, Shelby Miller and Mike Minor.
Banuelos is anxious, and dialed-in ready to make the leap to the majors.
"This is a young team and there are a lot of starters. They're young, just my age," said Banuelos of 24-year-old's Teheran, Wood and Miller, who are anchors of the staff. "A lot of people have been waiting for me to get to the show. I've been waiting too. I think this is the year. I've been working hard in the offseason. My arm feels great, healthy -- that's all I want. I just want to feel healthy again."
Banuelos entered the Yankees system when he was just 17. Before he turned 20, he had notched 451 strikeouts in just 439 1/3 innings and improved his strikeout rate from 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings in rookie ball to 12.6 in 10 starts at the Double-A level.
When he entered spring training in 2011, Yankees catcher Mariano Rivera tabbed Banuelos as the best pitching prospect he'd every seen, according to ESPNNewYork.com.
But the 2011 season was a backslide of sorts as Banuelos' walk rate almost doubled, and for the first time in his career his walks (71) were higher that half the number of strikeouts (125). Banuelos battled poor command and even worse control. And the after six starts in 2012, Banuelos was placed on the disabled list with a sore left elbow. Five months later he underwent Tommy John Surgery.
Banuelos spent the 2013 season on the mend, and was then limited in 2014 as he rehabbed his way back through the minors. He spent time in High-A Tampa, Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. But more important that the level he was playing, was the level of pain in his elbow.
"Early in the [2014] season, the first month, I started here in High-A with the Tampa Yankees," said Banuelos. "I made like five outings and it was great, it felt really strong. After that, when I got to Double-A I started to feel tightness and all that, just for a couple of outings. But after that it felt really good."
Banuelos didn't wow anyone statistically by his entire body of work in 2014. In 76 1/3 innings over 25 starts and one relief appearance, he posted a 4.13 ERA and struck out 71 while walking 31. But if you look at his final eight starts, when the tightness in his elbow went away, there's reason for optimism.
The final eight starts of the season for Banuelos last year were split evenly between Double-A and Triple-A. He pitched 32 2/3 innings and posted a 2.75 ERA. He allowed just 22 hits and struck out 29 batters while walking 14.
After finishing the season on a positive streak, Banuelos said the more important issue was the fact that he came away pain free.
"I pitched almost 80 innings and then my arm don't feel nothing," said Banuelos. "So this year I come here with more confidence, more healthy, stronger. It's better than last year."
And through the first few sessions of spring training with the Braves, his arm is still pain free. With a healthy arm has come healthy results, according to Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez.
"I saw him throw, when he threw today [Tuesday] I really didn't pay attention to him, I was watching [Brady] Feigl throw and Wandy [Rodriguez], said Gonzalez. "But the first side he threw he did really well. It was very impressive."
Banuelos felt his second side session was better than the first, which bodes well for him as he tries to make the team.
"[Tuesday], that was a good one, with dominant pitches and everything," said Banuelos. "It was good. It feels great, it feels strong."
Through two sessions, Banuelos said the team hasn't clocked his pitches, but he feels like his velocity is back to where it was pre-surgery. With the speed back, he said he wants to focus on command and consistency. He wants to throw more strikes than he has in the past, and learn better control of his fastball.
If Banuelos can show signs this spring of a much lower walk rate, he stands a decent shot of making the team. And that can be the case even without winning the final job in the rotation.
"For me, he's in the mix of being that No. 5 starter," Gonzalez said. "If he could help us in the bullpen and we could do that as a way to manage his innings a little bit, we're open to that [too]."
Banuelos doesn't care how he makes the team or in what capacity. He's solely focused on breaking camp with the Braves and putting the label of prospect behind him. If 2014 was the season he left Tommy John Surgery in the rear view, and 2015 was the season he put to rest the fear of not making it to the big leagues after starting as such a bright star, Banuelos would be thrilled.
It may turn out Banuelos is better suited for the bullpen in 2015.
Because he only pitched 76 1/3 innings last season, he will be on a strict innings limit. There's no way he'd be able to maintain a starter's role (whether in the minors or the big leagues) and pitch all season. The Braves had to manage Alex Wood's innings in 2014, and the project worked out beautifully.
Banuelos may spend more time in the bullpen than Wood did, however, which could work out well for him.
If Banuelos was pitching from the bullpen, he could live off his fastball and slowly work on his secondary pitches. At the same time he could focus on command and control of all his pitches. Through matchups and short stints, Banuelos could succeed while still getting the feel for Year 2 after Tommy John.
In six professional seasons, Banuelos has only eclipsed the 100-inning plateau twice (2009 and 2011). The 2014 season should be looked at as the season he got his arm back to normal. In 2015, Banuelos can start building a foundation for entering the rotation in 2016 and beyond. Because even if he does win the job as the Braves fifth starter, he doesn't have enough innings in his arm to keep the job all season.
As long as he's with the big-league Braves though, Banuelos will be mentally fine.
