Manuel Aybar made his stateside debut in 2013 after spending the previous two seasons pitching in the Dominican Summer League. Aybar was sent to the Arizona League Reds.
The right hander got his season started on June 25th against the Dodgers where he allowed 2 earned runs in 3.1 innings with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. He was charged with 2 unearned runs during the game.
July began with a strong start against the Rangers where the 20-year-old allowed a run in 5 innings with a walk and 3 strikeouts. He followed that up with two starts where he struggled as he allowed 6 earned runs in 7.2 innings with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts before firing 4.2 shutout innings against the Brewers on the 17th. He struggled with his control though as he walked 4 batters in the game and struck out 2. In his next start Aybar allowed 4 runs to the Mariners in 4 innings with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. The final appearance of the month came against the Brewers where he fired 3 shutout innings with a walk and 2 strikeouts. He finished the month with an ERA of 4.07 in 24.1 innings with 11 walks and 16 strikeouts. His walk rate was high and his strikeout rate was solid.
August started with a start against the Padres that lasted 4.1 innings with just one earned run allowed to go along with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. In his next start he allowed an earned run over the course of 5 innings with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts while also hitting a batter. In each of his next two starts he would allow 2 earned in 4 and 4.1 innings pitcher with 5 total walks and 4 strikeouts. On the 22nd of the month Aybar threw 4 hitless innings against the Diamondbacks, but he walked 5 batters and struck out just 2. In his final appearance of the year he allowed an earned run in 3 innings against the Dodgers with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. August finished with a 2.19 ERA in 24.2 innings to go along with 19 walks and 18 strikeouts. The run prevention was very good, but his control was poor during the month as he walked more than he struck out.
Season Stats
| W | L | ERA | SV | IP | H | HR | BB | K | WHIP | BB% | K% | K/BB |
| 1 | 3 | 3.31 | 0 | 51.2 | 46 | 3 | 32 | 36 | 1.51 | 14.3% | 16.1% | 1.1 |
Overall Thoughts
Control has been an issue for Aybar in his career and 2013 was no different as he walked 14.3% of the hitters he faced on the season, but for the third straight year his ERA has dropped. Despite the control problems, he posted a good ERA that could be attributed to his ability to keep the ball in the park and an above-average groundball rate. He will need to lower the walk rate, by a decent amount, in order to continue to have success as he moves up the ladder.
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