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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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

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 ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

from 2012 to 2015. He throws and bats right-handed.

Career

Villarreal attended Seagoville High School in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, 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 Baseball scorekeep ...

and

. He attended

Howard College Howard College is a Public college, public community college with its main campus in Big Spring, Texas. It also has branch campuses in San Angelo, Texas, San Angelo and Lamesa, Texas, Lamesa. History Howard County Junior College was establishe ...

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

Cincinnati Reds

The

drafted Villarreal in the seventh round, with the 209th overall selection, of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. He made his professional debut with the rookie–level

Gulf Coast League Reds A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of salt water that ar ...

, and logged a 7.71 ERA across six games. Villarreal split the 2009 campaign between the GCL Reds and High–A

Sarasota Reds The Sarasota Reds were a professional minor league baseball team, located in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the Florida State League. The team originally started play in Sarasota as the Sarasota White Sox in 1989. They remained in the city for ...

, going 1–5 with a 3.99 ERA in 14 games split between the two affiliates. He played 23 games with the Single–A

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark. In 2011, they broke the record for most ...

in 2010, going 4–7 with a 3.84 ERA. In a six-game promotion to the Double–A

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinn ...

, Villarreal 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 California League at the Class A-Advanced level, hosting home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facing ...

and the Double–A

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, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

, going a combined 11–7 with a 4.39 ERA in 27 total appearances. On November 18, 2011, the Reds added Villarreal 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, an ...

in order to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. He began the 2012 season with the Double–A

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

, and was called up to the Triple–A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

on May 4, 2012. Villarreal made his major league debut for the Reds on September 5, 2012, a loss to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. Villarreal entered the game in the top of the 9th inning in relief of Sean Marshall. He struck out

Domonic Brown Domonic Larun Brown (born September 3, 1987), is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in , after being named the Phillies' top prospect in and the top ...

, 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 Denis Phipps (born July 22, 1985) is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds in 2012. Career Cincinnati Reds On May 3, 2004, Phipps signed with the Cincinnati Reds as ...

in the bottom of the inning. Villarreal was called up on June 5, 2013, to make his first Major League start for the Reds against the

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

, after

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

was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

. He was outrighted off the roster on September 2. Villarreal had his contract selected and was called back up to the Reds on August 21, 2014. In 12 appearances for Cincinnati, he compiled a 4.30 ERA with 12 strikeouts across innings pitched. Villarreal made 29 appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

in 2015, compiling a 3.42 ERA with 29 strikeouts across 50 innings of work. On December 3, 2015, he was non–tendered by the Reds and became a free agent. On January 9, 2016, Villarreal re–signed with the Reds organization on a minor league contract. He made only four appearances for Louisville in 2016 due to injury, and elected free agency following the season on November 7.

Toros de Tijuana

On May 16, 2017, Villarreal signed with the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (English: Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican baseball team based in Tijuana, Mexico, that competes in the Mexican Baseball League. The team plays its home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The franchise w ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. 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 Hidalgo County, 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 21st-century American sportsmen