José Alvarado #46

José displayed the abbreviation of countries affected by hurricanes, along with "God Bless," above the bill of his cap for a time last season.... His preferred nickname is La Flecha, meaning "The Arrow."... In his spare time, José enjoys hunting iguanas and paca, a large rodent found in Central and South America…he frequently catches 3-foot iguanas and says they taste like chicken... José has a daughter, Victoria (5), and son, Dylan (2).

2017

Made 35 apps with the Rays spanning three stints in the majors, his first career major league action…was on the active roster from May 3- June 27, Aug 4-13 and Sep 5 through season's end.... Did not allow a run in his last 14 apps spanning two stints, from Aug 4 through the end of the season…opponents hit .190/.227/.214 (8-for-42) over this stretch, which lowered his season ERA from 5.89 to 3.64... Averaged 98.2 mph on his fastball, according to StatCast…his max velocity of 100.9 mph was the fastest by a Ray since Fernando Rodney (101.1) in 2013...With his May 3 recall from Double-A Montgomery, was the first Rays call up to bypass Triple-A for his major league debut since Scott Kazmir in 2004…Hunter Wood did the same with his late-May call up…made his major league debut that night vs. MIA and allowed 3 R/ER in the 7th inning.... Debuted at 21 years, 347 days and became the fourth pitcher in club history to take the mound before his 22nd birthday, joining Scott Kazmir, Chad Gaudin and Dan Wheeler... Pitched to a 14.54 ERA (4.1-IP, 7-ER) over his last 6 apps prior to his June 28 option to Triple-A Durham…yielded at least 1 run in 5 of those 6 apps, and suffered 3 losses over that span.... In his second stint, struck out 9 of his 16 BF spanning 5 apps, all scoreless…on Aug 4 vs. MIL, made his first major league app since June 24 vs. BAL and struck out all 3 BF on a total of 9 pitches…was the third "immaculate inning" in club history, following Brad Boxberger on May 8, 2014 vs. BAL and Rafael Soriano on Aug 23, 2010 at LAA....Averaged 12.13 SO/9 IP (29.2-IP, 40-SO) over 25 apps between Montgomery and Durham.... WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: Pitched for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic during spring training, making 3 apps…earned the victory in a 4-3 comeback win over Italy in a tiebreaker game in Guadalajara, Mexico, going 2.1 IP in relief.

2016

Made 37 apps between Class-A Bowling Green and Class-A Charlotte, combining for a 3.06 ERA (70.2-IP, 24-ER) and 85 SO…was used ex-clusively in relief for the first time since his 2012 debut season. Held left-handed hitters to a .184 avg. (14-for-76) with 1 HR and 28 SO between the two levels. Issued 55 BB in 70.2 IP for 7.00 BB/9 IP and 1.55 SO/BB ratios. All 10 apps for Bowling Green were 2 IP or lon-ger…averaged 12.4 SO/9 IP there to earn a pro-motion to Charlotte on May 16. Logged a 5.56 ERA (22.2-IP, 14-ER) in his first 15 apps with the Stone Crabs, but finished the season with a 2.31 ERA (23.1-IP, 6-ER) over his final 12 apps. Made 9 apps for the Tiburones de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Winter League, going 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA (9.1-IP, 2-ER) and 13 SO. Listed by Baseball America as one of three Rays farmhands to touch 100 mph according to scouts, front office officials or PITCHf/x data, along with Ryne Stanek and Diego Castillo. Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 28 prospect in the Rays organization following the season.