Adrian Alaniz is a North American professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 player. A graduate of Sinton High School, he is a right-handed pitching

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 prospect

Prospect (sports)

In sports, a prospect is any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team, or isn't established with the team yet. Prospects can sometimes be assigned to farm teams...

 in the Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...

 organization.

Alaniz attended the University of Texas from 2004 to 2007. He was selected by Washington in the eighth round of the 2007 amateur entry draft.

In 2007 Alaniz pitched for the Vermont Lake Monsters

Vermont Lake Monsters

The Vermont Lake Monsters are a minor league baseball team in the Short-Season A classification New York - Penn League, affiliated with the Oakland Athletics. The team plays its home games at Centennial Field on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vermont...

 in the short-season New York-Penn League. He logged 60⅓ innings in eight starts and five relief appearances, winning 8 games, losing 2, and recording a 2.39 ERA

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

. During that span, he struck out

Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

 62 batters while issuing only eight bases on balls

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

.

He was promoted to the Potomac Nationals

Potomac Nationals

The Potomac Nationals are a Minor League Baseball team located in Woodbridge, Virginia. The Nationals play in the Class A Advanced Carolina League, and are an affiliate of the Washington Nationals.-History:...

 in the advanced class-A Carolina League

Carolina League

The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...

 in 2008. As of June 2, 2008, he had compiled an 8-0 record and a 2.43 ERA over 59⅓ innings in 11 starts at Potomac, striking out 54 batters and walking 23.

In 2009, at the Harrisburg Senators

Harrisburg Senators

The Harrisburg Senators are a minor league baseball team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals....

 in class-AA East League, he was 3-4 with a 4.76 ERA.
He had a bad May, going 1-3 with an 8.14 ERA in 21 Innings Pitched over 6 starts. Thereafter, he pitched mostly out of the bullpen with a 1.14 ERA over 39 and 2/3 innings. 2010 will be a year of decision, after a disappointing 2009.

External links

• "Adrian Alaniz", Baseball-Reference.com
• "Who is Adrian Alaniz?", Thunder Baseball, August 19, 2008
• Leagues
  • New York-Penn League - Short-season A-level minor league
  • Carolina League - Advanced A-level minor league
• Teams
  • Vermont Lake Monsters - New York-Penn League affiliate of the Washington Nationals based in Burlington, Vt.
  • Potomac Nationals - Carolina League affiliate of the Washington Nationals based in Woodbridge, Va.
  • Washington Nationals