| Al Alburquerque | |
|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers – No. 62 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: June 10, 1986 San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| April 15, 2011 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Career statistics (through 2011) |
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| Win–loss record | 6–1 |
| Earned run average | 1.87 |
| Strikeouts | 67 |
| Teams | |
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Alberto José Alburquerque (born June 10, 1986) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. He is 6'0" tall and weighs 195 pounds. Alburquerque began his professional career in 2006 and made his Major League debut in 2011.
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Signed by scout Jose Serra, Alburquerque began his professional career in 2006 with the AZL Cubs, in the Chicago Cubs farm system. He went 0–2 with a 5.98 ERA in eight games (five starts) that season. He also had 15 strikeouts in 12⅔ innings. In 2007, he played for the Boise Hawks and Peoria Chiefs, going a combined 4–6 with a 5.83 ERA in 21 games (10 starts). In 66⅓ innings, he struck out 69 batters. He did not play at all in 2008.
Alburquerque began the 2009 season in the Cubs system, pitching for the Daytona Cubs. However, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies partway through the season as a player to be named later in a deal that sent Jeff Baker to the Cubs.[1] He finished the season with the Tulsa Drillers. Overall, he went 2–3 with a 2.80 ERA in 47 relief appearances, striking out 75 batters in 61 innings. He pitched for the Drillers again in 2010, going 2–4 with a 4.98 ERA in 25 relief appearances.[2]
Following the 2010 season, he became a free agent and signed a major league contract with the Detroit Tigers. He was assigned to the Triple-A affiliate Toledo Mud Hens following spring training.
Alburquerque made his major league debut on April 15, 2011 against the Oakland Athletics. He struck out the first batter he faced and pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Alburquerque is known as a two pitch pitcher with a traditional 4-seam fastball that ranges anywhere between 95–98 mph and his secondary pitch, or "out-pitch", is a slider with tremendous tilt and break that ranges between 86–88 mph. Though only in his first full season in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers, he is building a reputation throughout baseball as having one of the "nastiest" sliders in the league. His K/9 ratio is well above the league average and currently sits at 14.1 K/9 IP.[3]
On August 12, 2011, Alburquerque was hit in the head by a ball hit by Baltimore Orioles' Robert Andino during batting practice. He was taken to the hospital and stayed overnight for tests. The next day, the Tigers placed him on the 7-day disabled list with a concussion.[4]