Ezequiel Franklin Astacio (born November 4, 1979) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in MLB for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in 2006.

Career

Philadelphia Phillies

Astacio begin his professional career by signing with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2001. He was assigned to the GCL Phillies upon signing. In 2002, he was promoted to the Single-A Lakewood BlueClaws, where he would spend the entire season. In 2003, he was promoted to the advanced Single-A Clearwater Phillies, with whom he would spend the season with, playing in 25 games.

Houston Astros

On November 3, , Astacio was traded to the

along with Taylor Buchholz and Brandon Duckworth in exchange for

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston ...

. He would spend the 2004 season with the Double-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

. Astacio got a taste of the big leagues in posting a 3–6 record with a 5.67

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

. He pitched 100 innings,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

66 and

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

25. Typical of a lot of younger pitchers with a plus

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

, he also gave up an eye opening 25

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s. He gave up the game-winning home run to

Geoff Blum Geoffrey Edward Blum (born April 26, 1973) is an American former professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Arizona D ...

in Game 3 of the

2005 World Series The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Chicago White Sox and the National ...

against the

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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Texas Rangers

Astacio was claimed off of waivers by the Texas Rangers on March 26, 2007, but he failed to make the team following

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. After clearing waivers, Astacio was optioned to Triple-A

Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. He became a free agent on October 29, 2007.

Cincinnati Reds

On January 31, 2008, Astacio signed a minor league contract with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

organization. On June 28, 2008, Astacio was released before pitching in a game.

Chicago Cubs

On September 1, 2009, Astacio signed a minor league deal with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

organization, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

. He played in 3 games for Iowa before being released on September 15.

San Angelo Colts

Astacio signed with the San Angelo Colts of United League Baseball for the 2010 season. He played in 21 games for San Angelo, pitching to a 5.85 ERA with 125 strikeouts. He became a free agent after the season.

Road Warriors

In 2011, Astacio signed with the Road Warriors of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. He was released after pitching to a 14.40 ERA over 5.0 innings of work.

References

External links

1979 births Living people Atlantic League Road Warriors players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Houston Astros players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Oklahoma RedHawks players People from Hato Mayor del Rey Round Rock Express players San Angelo Colts players Florida Complex League Phillies players Gigantes del Cibao players Iowa Cubs players Lakewood BlueClaws players Leones del Escogido players {{DominicanRepublic-baseball-pitcher-stub