Oscar Villarreal

Married to Claudia...The couple has a daughter, Valeria, and 2 sons, Oscar Jr. and Max Emiliano. Is a 1998 graduate of Nuevo Leon's Preparatoria No. 16 High School.

2012

Was a non-roster invitee to BAL's major league spring training and spent the entire season with Triple-A Norfolk. Was 3-3 with 1 save and a 2.84 ERA (20 ER/63.1 IP) in 35 relief appearances and 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA (2 ER/5.1 IP) in 2 starts...Pitched 2.0 or more innings in 21 of his 37 games. Did not allow a HR over his 1st 39.0 innings which spanned 20 appearances...Had a 1.98 ERA (8 ER/36.1 IP) over his 1st 18 games of the season. Held opponents to a .205 AVG (17-for-83) with runners in scoring position. Posted a 1.45 ERA (6 ER/37.1 IP) with 17 saves in 19 chances in 31 appearances for Aguilas de Mexicali in the Mexican Pacific League following the season.

2011

Opened the season with Triple-A Albuquerque, posting a 6.75 ERA (2.2IP, 2ER) in two games...Was loaned to Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League...Went 0-4 with 18 saves and a 2.80 ERA (45.0IP, 14ER) in 43 appearances...Held lefties to a line of .190/.301/.286 in 63 at-bats...Went 2-0 with 19 saves and a 2.57 ERA (28.0IP, 8ER) in 28 games for Aguilas de Mexicali in the Mexican Winter League...Held righties to a line of .159/.209/.206.

2010

Went 4-3 with one save and a 4.40 ERA (28 ER/57.1 IP) in 49 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley in the Phillies' organization...Struck out 42 batters and walked 26 while allowing seven home runs...Following the season, went 2-0 with a 3.52 ERA (12 ER/30.2 IP) in 30 games for Mexicali in the Mexican Winter League...struck out 31 batters and walked 14.

2009

Missed the entire 2009 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

2008

Opened 2006 with a 7-0 record and recorded victories in four of the Braves' first five games of the season, becoming just the fifth player since 2000 to do so.

2007

Appeared in 51 games for the Braves and finished 2-2 with one save and a 4.24 ERA (36ER/76.1IP)...pitched 2.0-or-more innings in 20 of his 51 games...in his 31 games with fewer than 2.0 innings, he posted a 4.35 ERA (15ER/31IP)...had a 4.17 ERA (21ER/45.1IP) in the 2.0-plus inning games...ranked fifth in the Majors and third in the NL with a 0.90 ERA during Interleague play (min. 10.0 IP)...went 1-0 with a 3.78 ERA in 30 games before the All-Star Break with 17 walks and 44 strikeouts...after the break, he was 1-2 with a 5.02 ERA in 21 games, including 15 walks and 14 strikeouts...held hitters to a .240 average at night and a .307 average during the day...his best month was May, when he had a 2.35 ERA in 10 games (4ER/15.1IP)...held right-handed hitters to a .220 average...opponents hit just .111 (1x9) with the bases loaded...earned his first career save (in his 214th career appearance) on Aug. 9 at NYM...posted his second win on Aug. 5 vs. COL, pitching a scoreless 10th inning...fanned a career-high six batters on July 1 at FLA in 2.2 IP of relief (was a season high for a Braves reliever)...went a season-high 3.0 IP of relief twice: June 12 at MIN and July 16 vs. CIN...recorded his first win of the year after his only blown save of the season when he allowed two runs, one earned, on April 18 vs. CHI.

2006

Was 8-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 54 relief appearances (74.1 IP) and 1-0, 3.50 ERA in four starts (18.0 IP)...Had a 2.06 ERA in road games (43.2 IP/10 ER)...Boasted a .263 ERA after the All-Star break...Started the year 7-0, the best by a Brave since M. Remlinger in 2002 (7-0); Suffered his first loss 6/14...Earned his fourth win 4/14 vs. SD and became just the fifth pitcher since 1900 to claim four of his team's first five victories...Became the first Brave since Cecil Upshaw in 1971 to have four wins in his team's first 11 games played...Allowed no runs 14.0 IP after returning to the bullpen on 9/11, including two shutout IP on 9/18 at WSH...Earned ninth win on 8/17 at WSH (5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, BB, 4 K), making his first start since 4/8/03 with ARI...Made second career start 8/17 at WSH and first since 4/8/03. Earned the win after allowing just one hit and one walk while fanning four in a career-high 5.0 IP in a 5-0 Braves' victory...Went a career-high 4.1 scoreless IP in relief on 6/23, as the Braves snapped their 10-game losing streak with 4-3, 11-inning win at TB. Oscar relieved John Smoltz, who left with an injury in the second inning...Notched his 8th save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning in 3-1 win at SD on 5/22...Earned the win on Opening Day (4/3) and again on 4/5 as the Braves began the season by winning two of three games at LAD...Was charged with his second blown save on 4/10 vs. PHI, but also got his third win to become the first Braves pitcher to get three wins in the team's first eight games since Lew Burdette in 1959...Pitched for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic (2.2 IP, 1 ER).

2005

Second straight year was interrupted by right arm trouble, this time it was a rotator cuff strain. Injuries have limited him to a total of 28 big-league appearances over the last two seasons...Opened the year with Tucson (AAA) and appeared once before being summoned to the majors on 4/9...Worked 1.2 scoreless frames on 4/9 and left the next day's outing vs. Los Angeles with a sore right shoulder...Rotator cuff strain disabled him from 4/11-9/2...Made 11 rehab outings with Tucson, going 0-3 with a 5.63 ERA...Surrendered a solo homer in 1.0 inning of work on 9/3, his first big-league game in over 20 weeks...Tossed 3.0 scoreless frames on 9/11 at Coors Field, tying his career high, matching a 3.0-inning start on 4/8/03 at LA...Victory in the 9/17 contest vs. Colorado was his first triumph since 9/25/03 at COL...Recorded his second win of the season with a scoreless frame on 9/30 at SF...Retired the first batter faced in 8 of 11 outings...Stranded 8 of 11 inherited baserunners.

2004

One year after setting the National League rookie record for appearances, Oscar was limited to only 17 outings due to recurring elbow pain that eventually required surgery...soreness surfaced during spring training, when a tender right elbow limited him to only 3.0 innings of work, all coming during the final week of the exhibition slate...he was ready for Opening Day, tossing a scoreless frame against the Rockies, his first of a dozen outings in April, notching 15 strikeouts while issuing only 1 walk over 12.1 innings...he matched his career high with 4 strikeouts during 2.0 perfect frames of relief on April 22 at Milwaukee...he landed on the disabled list on May 10 with a right flexor strain...after resting the elbow, he began a throwing program and went on a rehabilitation assignment with Tucson (AAA) in mid-July...he made 6 appearances for the Sidewinders, going 0-2 with a 14.34 ERA, allowing 20 hits and 17 runs in 10.2 frames...with a noticable drop in velocity during his rehab work, a magnetic resonance imaging exam was performed on August 6 and he wound up undergoing season-ending nerve transposition surgery...the procedure was performed in Phoenix by Diamondback team physicians Dr. Michael Lee and Dr. Don Sheridan...additionally, Villarreal had bone chips removed from the elbow.

2003

After earning a spot on the big league roster out of Spring Training, Oscar rewrote the record books by appearing in 86 games, establishing a new National League rookie mark, shattering the previous record of 78 originally set by Montreal's Tim Burke in 1985 and matched by Houston's Ricky Stone in 2002 ... Villarreal finished second in the Majors in games pitched, 3 behind the Dodgers' Paul Quantrill ... the 21-year old's 86 outings were the most ever by a pitcher from Mexico, surpassing Pittsburgh's Enrique Romo, who pitched in 84 games in 1979 ... Villarreal ranked third among all hurlers with 95.0 innings of relief and, including his lone start, finished with 98.0 innings pitched ... he also led rookies with a 2.57 ERA, which was sixth among all hurlers with as many innings pitched ... he not only set a club record for appearances, but also recorded 10 triumphs, snapping Gregg Olson's team mark for wins by a reliever (in 1999) and matching Brandon Webb's franchise record for victories by a rookie ... among National League rookies, Villarreal was third in opponents' average (.222), tied for fourth in victories, ninth in strikeouts (80), and tenth in innings pitched ... he made his big league debut on March 31 vs. the Dodgers and recorded a strikeout on only one pitch, inheriting a two-strike count on Hideo Nomo after an injury to Bret Prinz and threw one strike to retire the only batter he faced ... Villarreal made his only big league start on April 8 in Dodger Stadium, hurling 3.0 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits in a no decision, an eventual 5-3 Arizona defeat ... he recorded his first win on April 20 in St. Louis with 2.2 shutout innings of a 1-0 win after starter Miguel Batista was ejected following a brawl ... Oscar appeared 16 times through April 30, to set a pre-May 1 club record ... he was touched for a season-high 4 earned runs in a 6-4 loss at Philadelphia on May 15 ... he was struck on the left shin by a Frank Thomas line drive on June 5, then retired Magglio Ordonez and Brian Daubach to end the frame, but after reaching the dugout Villarreal required assistance to reach the clubhouse ... he was out for 5 days before returning on June 10 allowing a pair of unearned runs in Kansas City ... Villarreal picked up his fifth win on June 18 in Houston as the D-Backs scored twice off Billy Wagner in the ninth ... the victory started a personal 3-game win streak through August 2 ... Oscar was struck in the chest by a line drive off the bat of Houston's Craig Biggio on June 23, but remained in the contest and surrendered 4 ninth-inning runs, with 3 of the tallies unearned due to his own error ... he allowed a .378 average during June, the only month in which the opposition hit over .250 against him ... he did not give up an earned run in July, totaling 15.1 innings for the month ... over a longer stretch, he allowed only 1 earned run over 26.0 innings for a 0.35 ERA spanning 26 games from June 30-August 15 ... he limited opponents to a .130 average (7-for-54) during July ... when Oscar took the hill on August 3 at Chicago, he tied Troy Brohawn's club rookie record for appearances (59 in 2001), then broke the mark 2 days later vs. Montreal ... he allowed 5 earnies over 42 outings (42.0 innings) for a 1.07 ERA from May 20-August 15 ... he matched Mike Myers' club record for games pitched in a month with 18 in August ... Villarreal was 0-2 and allowed 12 runs, including 9 earned runs, in 10.1 innings for a 7.84 ERA over 9 games from August 24-September 8 ... the final outing of that stretch was his 78th appearance on the year, tying Byung-Hyun Kim's franchise mark set in 2001, while also matching the NL rookie record ... Oscar broke both appearance records when he picked up the win on September 10 vs. Los Angeles in appearance #79 ... he made 19 relief appearances of at least 2.0 innings on the year ... he stranded 31 of 45 (69%) inherited runners on the season ... when facing the first batter in a relief outing, he recorded 22 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .228 average (18-for-79) ... he held right-handed batters to a .204 average (46-for-226) while lefties hit .252 (34-for-135).

How obtained:
Signed as a non-drafted free agent, November 6, 1998.

2002

Oscar opened the season with El Paso (AA) and finished the year by making 10 starts for Tucson (AAA) ... he was chosen as the farm system's Pitcher-of-the-Month for April after going 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA over 6 starts ... he fanned 38 and walked only 8 in 43.0 innings ... he allowed 1 run or less in 5 of his first 6 starts ... Oscar began his season with 7.0 strong innings against Round Rock on April 4, allowing a run on 4 hits with a season-high 10 strikeouts ... he was struck on the thumb of his pitching hand during his April 25 start vs. Shreveport but still tossed 7.0 scoreless frames of 3-hit ball ... he tossed his first career complete game in his next start on April 30 vs. Arkansas, surrendering a run on 6 hits with 6 K's ... back-to-back rough outings on May 6 & 11 totaled 13 runs in 10.2 innings and signaled something was wrong ... Oscar was diagnosed with a fractured bone in his right thumb and was disabled from May 14-June 7 ... he made 6 more appearances (5 starts) for the Diablos before he was transferred to Tucson on July 11 ... he lost his first 2 starts for the Sidewinders but rebounded with 3 straight solid outings, going 2-0 with a 3.23 ERA (July 25-August 4) ... Oscar pitched winterball for the Mexicali Eagles, going 7-2 with a save, 4.36 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 14 games (11 starts) ... his win total was tops on his club and tied for third in the Mexican Pacific League ... he also led his team in strikeouts.

2001

Oscar spent the entire season at AA, finishing second on the pitching staff with 27 starts, 140.2 innings and 108 strikeouts ... he went 4-1 in his 6 starts during May with a 3.82 ERA ... he fanned a season-high 10 batters in a no-decision at Wichita on June 27 ... he missed his final start of the season due to bone chips in his right elbow ... after the season he returned to Mexico and played winterball for Mexicali, going 6-2 with a 2.55 ERA in 14 starts.

2000

Oscar played at 4 different levels ... he opened the year with a win in relief for Tucson (AAA) on May 6, tossing 2.2 scoreless frames with 4 strikeouts ... was 1-0, 1.66 ERA as a starter for South Bend (A) and 0-3, 9.82 in relief ... he made one appearance for Tucson (R) and finished the season at High Desert (A), going 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 5 relief appearances before closing the year with 4 starts, going 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA.

1999

He made his pro debut on June 24 with Tucson in the rookie level Arizona League ... he was second on the staff with 11 starts, 64.1 innings pitched and 51 strikeouts.