Kevin Maitán
Free agent
Shortstop
Born: (2000-02-12) February 12, 2000
Puerto Cabello, Venezuela
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right

Kevin Francisco Maitán Hernández (born February 12, 2000) is a Venezuelan professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent.

Professional career

Atlanta Braves

Maitán was considered the top international prospect for the 2016 class.[1][2] Though a natural shortstop, Maitán has most often been projected as a third baseman in professional baseball.[3][4] He has been called the best international free agent since Miguel Sanó in 2009 and has been compared to Miguel Cabrera and Chipper Jones.[5] He signed with the Atlanta Braves on July 2,[6][7] receiving a $4.25 million signing bonus.[8] Maitán arrived in the United States in September to begin his professional career at the instructional league.[9] He made his debut with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Braves on July 3, 2017,[10] and after batting .314 with a .751 OPS in nine games, he was promoted to the Rookie Advanced Danville Braves, where he finished 2017, posting a .220 average with two home runs and 15 RBIs.[11]

On October 2, 2017, Braves general manager John Coppolella and international scouting director Gordon Blakely resigned after an MLB investigation into their activities discovered several rules violations regarding international signings.[12] On November 21, MLB ordered that Maitan and several other players were released from their contracts and declared to be free agents.[13]

Los Angeles Angels

Maitán signed with the Los Angeles Angels, receiving a $2.2 million signing bonus.[14] He played for the Orem Owlz of the Advanced Rookie-level Pioneer League in 2018.[15] In 2019, he was promoted to the Single-A Burlington Bees. He played 123 games and finished with a slash line of .214/.278/.323.[16] Maitán did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

In 2021, Maitán split the year between the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Angels and the High-A Tri-City Dust Devils. In 37 games, he batted a cumulative .212/.261/.258 with one home run and 13 RBI.[18] Maitán spent the 2022 season with the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas, playing in 114 games and hitting .261/.338/.399 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI (both one under his career-highs).[19] In 2023, he played in 53 games for Rocket City, struggling to a .192/.300/.256 batting line with 1 home run and 15 RBI. On June 19, 2023, Maitán was released by the Angels organization.[20]

Lake Country DockHounds

On July 21, 2023, Maitán signed with the Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association of Professional Baseball.[21] In 9 games, he went 4–for–33 (.121) with 3 RBI and 3 walks. On August 2, Maitán was released by the team.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Badler, Ben (June 28, 2016). "Kevin Maitan Is Venezuela's Next Great Prospect". Baseball America. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  2. ↑ McDaniel, Kiley (September 30, 2014). "The Next Elite July 2nd Prospect Is 14-Years-Old". Fangraphs. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  3. ↑ Law, Keith; Crawford, Christopher (July 1, 2016). "Profiling the top international prospects and where they're likely to sign". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Shortstop Kevin Maitan tops Braves' international signings". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 2, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ O'Brien, David (February 8, 2016). "Braves free-agent target Maitan compared to Chipper". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  6. ↑ Sanchez, Jesse (July 2, 2016). "Top-ranked Maitan headlines Braves' international haul". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  7. ↑ O'Brien, David (July 2, 2016). "Braves sign bevy of international prospects led by No. 1-rated Maitan". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  8. ↑ foxsports (July 2, 2016). "Braves sign top international prospect Kevin Maitan for $4.25 million". FOX Sports. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  9. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (September 26, 2016). "Trio from vaunted Rome rotation, Maitan headline Braves' instructs". MLB.com. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  10. ↑ Rosenbaum, Mike (July 5, 2017). "Monday's best: Whitley fires five no-hit frames". MLB.com. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Kevin Maitan Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  12. ↑ Oz, Mike (October 2, 2017). "Braves GM John Coppolella quits suddenly amid MLB investigation". yahoo.com. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Braves penalized for int'l signing violations". mlb.com. November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  14. ↑ Guardado, Maria (May 24, 2018). "Angels agree with Kevin Maitan, Livan Soto". MLB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Maitan flying high in early going for Owlz". MiLB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Kevin Maitan Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  17. ↑ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Atlanta Braves: Where are Kevin Maitan and Abrahan Gutierrez now?". housethathankbuilt.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Kevin Maitan Stats & Scouting Report". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  20. ↑ @trashpandas (June 20, 2023). "As part of today's roster moves, the Angels announced the release of Aaron Whitefield, Ryan Aguilar, and Kevin Maitan. We thank them for their contributions to the Trash Pandas and the Rocket City community these past two seasons, and we wish them well on their next endeavors" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. ↑ "2023 Transactions". aabaseball.com. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  22. ↑ "2023 Transactions". aabaseball.com. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
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