Carlos Villanueva (baseball)

Infobox MLB player


width = 150
name=Carlos Villanueva
position=Starting pitcher
team=Milwaukee Brewers
number=12
bats=Switch
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1983|11|28
birthplace=Santiago, Dominican Republic
debutdate=May 23
debutyear=2006
debutteam=Milwaukee Brewers
statyear=September 21, 2008
stat1label=Win-Loss
stat1value=14-14
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.97
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=230
teams=
*Milwaukee Brewers (by|2006-present)

Carlos Manuel Villanueva Paulino (born November 28, 1983 in Santiago, Dominican Republic) is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers.

Baseball career

Villanueva was signed by the San Francisco Giants in by|2002. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on March 30, by|2004, for pitchers Wayne Franklin and Leo Estrella.

As he worked his way through the Brewers' farm system, Villanueva was called up to the Brewers from Double-A Huntsville on May 22, mlby|2006. He made his Major League debut against the Cincinnati Reds on May 23, 2006, pitching a scoreless inning. After being optioned back to the minors, Villanueva was recalled again, making his first career Major League start for the Brewers against the Cincinnati Reds.

After a successful 2006 campaign, Villanueva entered the mlby|2007 spring training in competition for the Brewers fifth spot in the starting rotation. Despite pitching well, he lost the job to Claudio Vargas. Instead, manager Ned Yost elected to put Villanueva into the bullpen as a middle relief pitcher. Villanueva pitched well in his new role and was occasionally used as a long relief pitcher when Elmer Dessens was placed on the DL. On July 2, Villanueva was 6-0 with a 2.64 ERA. Despite his great record, Villanueva was accustomed to only being used as a starting pitcher, and had never appeared in more than 25 games in his professional career. Through July and August, he posted a 1-3 record with an ERA of over 9, perhaps a sign of being overworked. Despite his struggles, he was still being used as a middle relief pitcher. On August 20, after pitching 3 perfect innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks and picking up his first career save, he was optioned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to make two starts to "polish up" for a September call up when the rosters expand.

External links

*Baseballstats |mlb=453646 |espn=7772 |br=v/villaca01 |fangraphs=4138 |cube=V/Carlos-Villanueva