Virgil Mattew Vasquez Career Tracker

Virgil Mattew Vasquez (born June 7, 1982 in Santa Barbara, California), is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox organization.

Amateur career

Vasquez was originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 7th round of the 2000 draft out of Santa Barbara High School, but did not sign.[1] He went 23-3 in his final two years of high school with 179 strikeouts while also hitting over .400. Vasquez was then selected by Detroit in the 7th round of the 2003 draft.

He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara and finished his college career with 189 strikeouts, the eighth most in school history.

Professional career

Vasquez began the 2006 season with Double-A Erie of the Eastern League, where he finished in the top ten for ERA, complete games, home runs allowed, innings pitched, games started and losses. He was promoted to Triple-A Toledo in early September 2006.

He started the 2007 campaign in Toledo, but was called up to the Major Leagues in May to make a spot start in place of the Tigers' Jeremy Bonderman on May 11.[2]

After the 2008 season, he was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox.

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Boston Red Sox — No. --
Pitcher
Born: June 7, 1982 (1982-06-07) (age 26)
Santa Barbara, California
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Major League Baseball debut
May 13, 2007 for the Detroit Tigers

Selected MLB statistics
(through 2007)
Win–Loss 0–1
Earned run average 8.64
Strikeouts 7

Teams

* Detroit Tigers (2007)

References

1. ^ "Baseball Draft Selections From Texas Schools", Associated Press (June 6, 2000).
   
2. ^ Beck, Jason (May 11, 2007). "Vasquez to debut against Twins". mlb.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
   

Not Virgil!!!! He never saw my sign!!!!!

10/28/08 4:29 PM ET
Red Sox claim Vasquez off waivers
Right-hander's departure opens spot on Tigers' 40-man roster

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

DETROIT -- The first player move of what should be a busy offseason for the Tigers was a smaller one Tuesday. Right-hander Virgil Vasquez, who did not pitch at all in Detroit in 2008 after serving as a spot starter a year earlier, was claimed on waivers by the Red Sox.

The Tigers had placed Vasquez, 26, on outright waivers to remove him from its 40-man roster. Those waivers are irrevocable, allowing any team to immediately claim a player as long as the club has room for him on their 40-man roster. Had Vasquez gone unclaimed, he would've been outrighted to Triple-A Toledo, where he spent most of the last two seasons as part of the Mud Hens rotation.

The move to the Red Sox organization arguably gives Vasquez a fresh start. He went 12-12 with a 4.81 ERA in 27 games with the Hens, all of them starts, while allowing 179 hits over 159 innings with 37 walks and 115 strikeouts. His home run total rose from 18 in 2007 to 27 in '08, while opponents' batting average rose from .241 to .283 in the same span.

Those struggles left him out of the Tigers' plans when they needed starting help at various times over the season. Though Vasquez was on the 40-man roster all year, Detroit purchased the contracts of Armando Galarraga, Eddie Bonine and Chris Lambert to fill in for injured starters. Vasquez was not called up when rosters expanded in September.

A year earlier, Vasquez's ability to pitch for outs and keep hitters off balance led the former seventh-round Draft pick from UC-Santa Barbara up the development ladder and all the way to Detroit for three spot starts and a September stint in the bullpen. He made his Major League debut on national television in a Sunday night game against the Twins at the Metrodome and took the loss, but recovered to post a 12-5 record and 3.48 ERA in 25 starts for the Mud Hens, including two complete-game shutouts.

Tuesday's move leaves the Tigers' 40-man roster at 39 players. That does not include Jeremy Bonderman, Joel Zumaya and Vance Wilson, all of whom ended the season on the 60-day disabled list. They'll be added back on, but the Tigers will get more room when closer Todd Jones' retirement takes effect and Wilson, Edgar Renteria and Kenny Rogers are expected to file for free agency.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

The Red Sox seem to like our cast-offs! Does that have any indication as to the Tigers judgment as to player quality???

Darn lucky Red Sox fans

Bye Virgil....we hardly knew ya!!

Vasquez among final Bucs contenders
With Gorzelanny out of picture, No. 5 spot down to rookie, Karstens

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Throwing strikes might seem the most obvious trait needed from a pitcher at the Major League level. It might just be what lands Virgil Vasquez a spot in the Pirates' rotation at the end of Spring Training.

His chances certainly improved when lefty Tom Gorzelanny was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday morning, removing one of the competitors for the back end of Pittsburgh's starting five. That this move came just a day after Vasquez got knocked around by the Yankees (2 1/3 innings pitched, seven hits, six earned runs) speaks volumes about what the Pittsburgh brain trust feels about the importance of being around the strike zone.

"Since no one's put a stranglehold on the fifth job, we have to project what's going to play [out]," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "We had trouble last year in throwing strikes, and [his control is] what we've been liking from him.

"[Against the Yankees], he threw too many strikes. But he learned the valuable lesson that he has to mix it up and change speeds. On the positive side, he was aggressive and he challenged hitters. If they put the ball in play, 70 percent of the time it will be an out. If there's a walk, 100 percent of the time there [won't be]. Vasquez and [Jeff] Karstens have separated themselves because of that. That was a key factor in our decision."

With Paul Maholm, Zach Duke and Ian Snell locked into the rotation and Ross Ohlendorf with the clear inside track for spot No. 4, it's looking more and more that the No. 5 spot will come down to Vasquez, who was picked up off waivers from the Padres by way of the Red Sox and Tigers, and Karstens, one of the arms acquired by the Pirates in the Xavier Nady deal.

In 2008, the Pirates pitching staff led the National League with 657 walks allowed. This spring, Vasquez has walked three in 7 1/3 innings; Karstens has yielded just one free pass in his 9 2/3 innings of work. Both have received kudos for being generally around the strike zone. For Vasquez against the Yankees, it may have been too much of a good thing.

"I felt I was controlling the ball in the strike zone well, but maybe too much of the strike zone," Vasquez. "I didn't work back and forth well enough [on Tuesday], especially for a lineup like that. I feel like I located well, for the most part. There were a few pitches they got a hold of."

The one thing Vasquez will not do is make too much out of any one outing. He's been down that road and has vowed not to repeat it. Back in 2007, the right-hander had a terrific season for Toledo, the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate. He went 12-5 with a 3.48 ERA, walking only 33 over 155 innings. For his Minor League career, in fact, Vasquez has walked just 1.98 per nine innings. He got a brief taste of the big leagues in 2007 and entered the 2008 season with a legitimate chance to make a big contribution in Detroit.

It didn't happen that way. Vasquez spent all year in Toledo, went 12-12 with a disappointing 4.81 ERA. After the season, the Tigers tried to sneak him through waivers and the Red Sox picked him up. When the Red Sox placed him on waivers in early January, the Padres swooped in. Then it was the Pirates turn when San Diego tried to sneak him through two weeks later. It's enough to make anyone realize things didn't go well, and Vasquez clearly got the message.

"I felt last year, it was my fault, with what happened at the end of the season," Vasquez said. "I had an off-year because of my mental approach to the game, worrying about things I couldn't control, what people thought of me.

"It was in my hands that last year. I was supposed to come in and be one of the guys, and mentally, I took myself out of the race. Now, I've learned that. You have to move forward. The outing against the Yankees is already over. You don't want those numbers, but you can't change it now, so you just have to go to the next one."

It appears that he'll get at least one more outing at the big league level this spring as the competition heats up for the Pirates. Another outing like the one against the Yankees, especially if Karstens continues to throw well, could mean a ticket to Indianapolis for Vasquez. But even if that's the case, Vasquez has made an impression that whatever happens, he's not going to hurt himself with errant command.

"He's intriguing because he does throw strikes and he does have pitches," manager John Russell said. "He just has to have a better mix of them and to utilize what he has.

"I was pleased with how he attacked the zone. It's nice to see him throw strikes. He gets ahead. I think once he starts to use his other pitches, that's going to make him more successful."

That could be music to most pitcher's ears, but Vasquez is trying not to worry too much about what other people think. Not after last year. He figures if he can continue to go out and stay within himself -- and yes, throw strikes -- things will take care of themselves.

"I don't know how they perceive me," Vasquez said. "I've gone out there for most of the spring and I feel like my stuff has been comparable to every guy who's fighting for this spot. I just have to keep doing it. Hopefully, my next start will be up here and I can bounce back. I want to show them how I bounce back, that one start's not the end."

If Vasquez can indeed bounce back, it might be just the beginning.