Luis Rivera

Who is Luis Rivera?

Luis Rivera Gutierrez is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. He is 6'3" tall and weighes 163 pounds.

Prior to being signed as an undrafted free agent by the Braves in 1995, he attended Sistema Prepatoria Abierta in Telucha, Mexico.

He began his professional career in 1996 with the GCL Braves, not playing in American baseball in 1995 because he was loaned by the Braves to the Tigres del Mexico. With the GCL Braves in 1996, he went 1–1 with a 2.59 ERA.

In 1997, he pitched for the Danville Braves and Macon Braves, going a combined 5–1 with a 2.03 ERA in 13 games started. In 62 innings of work, he had 84 strikeouts and 24 walks.

Ranked the 44th best prospect in baseball in 1998 by Baseball America, Rivera went 5–5 with a 3.98 ERA for Macon that season. He struck out 118 batters in 92⅔ innings that season.

Rivera was ranked the 71st best prospect in baseball by Baseball America in 1999 and the fourth best prospect in the Braves organization. That year he went 0–2 with a 3.11 ERA in 66⅔ innings. He struck out 81 batters in 66⅔ innings of work.

In 2000, he was ranked the 51st best prospect in baseball and the fifth best prospect in the Braves organization.