Gary Amato did not deserve to be cut by the Pittsburgh Pirates. But life is not fair, and when Amato was cut earlier this year, he did not cry or throw a fit. He asked us, who he had signed as his agents only two days prior of being cut, what we could do for him to allow him to continue his dream of playing professional baseball.
Amato had a 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings with the West Virginia Power (Single A affiliate of the Pirates), before he was cut earlier in the year. He also had 7Ks and only 1BB. The only thing going against him was opponents’ batting average, which was at .306. So he got another chance with the Nationals. And he is tearing it up.
Gary Amato is a Penn State Nittany Lion alum, and his school’s website recently had a nice blurb on Amato’s success thus far this year:
Ever since joining the Washington Nationals’ New York Penn League team Vermont, Gary Amato has pitched effectively in posting a 1.98 ERA in 13.2 innings out of the bullpen. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in any of his previous four outings, spanning his last seven innings. He’s held batters to only a .242 batting average while racking up 10 strikeouts.
In his entire span with the Vermont Lake Monsters, Amato has held batters to an even lower batting average: .226. In 15.2 total innings, he has struck out thirteen batters and only walked two. That ratio looks very similar to his former teammate, Kyle McPherson, who is currently playing with State College in the Pirates organization. McPherson has struck out thirty-three and walked four with the Spikes.
Last night, Amato continued to provide strong relief, pitching 2 innings, striking out 3, and giving up no runs.
Dynasty represents two other players in the Washington Nationals organization: Dan Leatherman (High A Potomac Nationals) and our newest client, Atahualpa Severino (Double A Harrisburg).
