Luis Ortiz (pitcher, born 1999)

Luis Leandro Ortiz (born January 27, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Career
Ortiz was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic on October 2, 2018, for a $25,000 signing bonus. He made his professional debut 2019 for the rookie–level Bristol Pirates, logging a 4.09 ERA across 11 starts.

He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ortiz spent the 2021 season with the Single–A Bradenton Marauders, making 22 appearances (19 starts) and recording a 3.09 ERA with 113 strikeouts in $87 1⁄3$ innings of work. By late 2021, his fastball had reached as high as 99 mph.

On July 15 and August 9, 2022, while pitching for the Double–A Altoona Curve, Ortiz threw two immaculate innings in a span of just 25 days, four fewer than the shortest known span between such innings by a Major League pitcher. Ortiz made 26 total appearances (25 starts) split between Altoona and the Triple–A Indianapolis Indians in 2022. In a career–high $124 1⁄3$ innings pitched, he accumulated a 5–9 record and 4.56 ERA with 138 strikeouts.

Ortiz was promoted to the majors for the first time on September 11, 2022. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington told the press that the club intended to use the remainder of the season to assess the quality of starting pitching in their organization.

Ortiz was optioned to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians to begin the 2023 season. He was recalled to the Pirates on May 9.