Thyago Vieira Lucio (born 1 July 1993) is a Brazilian 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 tea ...

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 ...

in the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

organization. He has played in

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) for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They ...

Career

Seattle Mariners

On 20 November 2010, Vieira signed with the

organization as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He made his professional debut with the Venezuelan Summer League (VSL) Mariners, pitching to a 4.00

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 12 games. He returned to the VSL Mariners the next year, logging a 3–5

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

and 6.05 ERA in 55 innings of work. In 2013, Vieira played for the Low-A

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seating capacity o ...

, pitching to a 4–5 record and 3.84 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 68 innings of work. In 2014, Vieira played for the Single-A

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Lea ...

, recording a 1–1 record and 5.23 ERA in 13 games. He returned to Clinton for the 2015 season, and accrued a 1–4 record and 6.97 ERA in 22 appearances for the team. After an extended spring training in 2016, he joined the High-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 facing ...

as a reliever, where he worked extensively with pitching coach

Ethan Katz Ethan Russell Katz (born July 4, 1983) is an American professional baseball Coach (baseball), coach, and former minor league baseball player. He is the pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior to that, Katz ...

. On the year, he registered a 2.84 ERA with 53 strikeouts in innings pitched. His

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

was recorded at up to in 2016. The Mariners added Vieira to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

after the 2016 season. He began the 2017 season with the Double-A

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

, and also played for the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

, logging a 4.00 ERA in 41 appearances between the two clubs. Vieira was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on 14 August 2017, and pitched one shutout inning against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

before being optioned to Triple-A the next day.

Chicago White Sox

On 16 November 2017, Vieira was traded to the

in exchange for international bonus pool money. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

to begin the 2018 season, where he logged a 5.05 ERA in 36 games. In 16 games for Chicago, Vieira pitched to a 7.13 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 16 appearances. In 2019, he struggled to a 9.00 ERA in six big league games, but recorded a better 6–4 record and 5.70 ERA in 39 games for Triple-A Charlotte. Vieira was released on 2 December 2019, in order to allow him to pursue an opportunity in Japan.

Yomiuri Giants

On 3 December 2019, Vieira signed with the

(NPB). In his first NPB season, Vieira had a 3.28 ERA with 29 strikeouts in innings of work. On 13 August 2021, Vieira recorded the fastest pitch in NPB history at , a record previously held by

Shohei Ohtani , nicknamed "Shotime", is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional ...

and Robert Corniel. On 1 September 2021, he set a NPB record for most consecutive mound appearances without giving up a run (32) by a non-Japanese player, breaking a record previously set in 2011 by

Brian Falkenborg Brian Thomas Falkenborg (born January 18, 1978) is a former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and St. Louis Cardinals and in Nippon Pro ...

of the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...

. In 2021, he recorded seven saves and had a 2.76 ERA in innings with 38 strikeouts and was selected to the Nippon League All Star Game. On 23 December 2021, Vieira re-signed with the Giants for the 2022 season. On 7 April 2022, following a game in which he had hit

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

batter Ryan McBroom in the head, Vieira was sent down to Yomiuri's farm team. He had struggled to a 22.50 ERA in 4 appearances at the point of his demotion.

Milwaukee Brewers

On 12 January 2023, Vieira signed a minor league contract with the

organization.

International career

He was selected for

Brazil national baseball team The Brazil national baseball team ( Portuguese: ''Seleção Brasileira de Beisebol'') is the national baseball team of Brazil. The team represents Brazil in international competitions. The team is currently ranked 18th in the world. Results and f ...

at the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualification,

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

, 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualification, and 2019 Pan American Games Qualifier.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vieira, Thyago 1993 births Living people Arkansas Travelers players Bakersfield Blaze players Brazilian expatriate baseball players in Japan Brazilian expatriate baseball players in the United States Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Clinton LumberKings players Everett AquaSox players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Brazil Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Peoria Javelinas players Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from São Paulo Tacoma Rainiers players Venezuelan Summer League Mariners players Yomiuri Giants players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Brazilian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela