Pedro Villarreal (born December 9, 1987) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the 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 ...

. He made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) debut with the Reds in 2012. He throws and bats right-handed.

Career

Villarreal attended

Seagoville High School Seagoville High School is a public secondary school located in Dallas, Texas, United States, northwest of the city of Seagoville. Seagoville High School enrolls students in grades 9– 12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, where was a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

. He attended

Howard College Howard College is a community college in the U.S. state of Texas with its main campus in Big Spring and branch campuses in San Angelo and Lamesa. History Howard County Junior College was established in Big Spring in 1945. 148 students be ...

, where he was a top pitcher on the baseball team.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds drafted him in the seventh round of the

2008 Major League Baseball Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first ro ...

. He played six games for

Gulf Coast Reds The Arizona Complex League Reds are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is composed m ...

, the rookie class team, in 2008. He had a 7.71 ERA. Vallarreal played for rookie GCL Reds and single-A advanced

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

in 2009. He was a combined 1–5 with a 3.99 ERA in 5 games for the Reds and 9 for Sarasota. He played 23 games at Dayton in 2010, going 4–7 with a 3.84 ERA. In a six-game promotion to double-A Lynchburg, he was 0–3 with a 6.86 ERA. In 2011, he played for the single-A

Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facin ...

and the

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. ...

, going a combined 11–7 with a 4.39 ERA in 10 games at Bakersfield and 17 at Carolina. He was added to the Reds 40-man roster on November 18, 2011 to be protected from the Rule 5 draft. He started the 2012 Season with AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos, until he was called up to AAA Louisville Bats on May 4, 2012. Villarreal made his major league debut for the Reds on September 5, 2012, a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Villarreal entered the game in the top of the 9th inning in relief of Sean Marshall. He struck out Domonic Brown, the first batter he faced, and retired the next two batters for a perfect inning of mop-up relief. He was pulled for pinch hitter Denis Phipps in the bottom of the inning. Villarreal was called up on June 5 to make his first Major League start for the Reds versus the Colorado Rockies, after Starting Pitcher

Johnny Cueto Johnny Cueto Ortiz (; born February 15, 1986) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox ...

was placed on the Disabled list He was outrighted off the roster on September 2, 2013. Villarreal had his contract selected and was called up to the Reds on August 21, 2014.Cincinnati Reds on Twitter: Reds promote Holmberg and Villarreal, option to Louisville Contreras and Hoover.
/ref> He became a free agent on November 7, 2016.

Toros de Tijuana

On May 16, 2017, Villarreal signed with the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

. He became a free agent after the 2018 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villareal, Pedro 1987 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Bakersfield Blaze players Baseball players from Texas Carolina Mudcats players Cincinnati Reds players Dayton Dragons players Gulf Coast Reds players Howard Hawks baseball players Louisville Bats players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Pensacola Blue Wahoos players People from Edinburg, Texas Sarasota Reds players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toros de Tijuana players