Marco Estrada (baseball)

Professional career

Estrada began his minor league career with the Vermont Expos of the short-season New York–Penn League after being drafted by Washington, making three starts and six relief appearances over 33 2/3 innings with a 1–3 record and a 5.08 ERA, striking out 37 and walking 16. In 2006, he pitched for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals and the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Single-A South Atlantic League, posting a 3–4 record and a 3.98 ERA over 61 innings across 12 starts and one relief appearance, with 56 strikeouts and 20 walks.

The following year, Estrada appeared for the GCL Nationals, the Single-A Hagerstown Suns, and the High-A Potomac Nationals, logging 105 2/3 innings in 23 starts, going 6–8 with a 4.85 ERA, 102 strikeouts, and 37 walks. He started 2008 with the Harrisburg Senators of the Double-A Eastern League, pitching 74 1/3 innings in 13 starts with a 2.66 ERA, 67 strikeouts, and 32 walks, before being promoted to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Triple-A International League in June.

Estrada was called up to the majors on August 19 and made his debut the next day, appearing in 11 games as a reliever that season. He pitched in four games (including one start) for the Nationals in 2009 but spent most of the year with Syracuse, and was designated for assignment on January 28, 2010. Claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers on February 3, 2010, he began the season with the Nashville Sounds of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

Milwaukee Brewers

He made his Brewers debut on May 18 as a relief pitcher against the Cincinnati Reds, recording nine consecutive outs through three innings before allowing a solo home run to Joey Votto in the 8th, and grounded out in his first official at-bat. After the season he was outrighted to Nashville. On April 6, 2011, Estrada was called up to replace the injured Zack Greinke in the starting rotation, and later became the long reliever and backup starter for the Brewers.

Scouting report

Marco Estrada relies on a four-seam fastball in the 86–91 mph range, a curveball around 76–79 mph, and a cutter that sits at 85–87 mph. His changeup, thrown at 76–77 mph with heavy downward movement, is his top offering. The 2011 season with Milwaukee marked his breakthrough, driven by sharply improved control: his walks per nine innings dropped to 2.8, a major leap from his prior three big-league campaigns, and he has held that rate below 3.0 ever since.

Did You Know?

• Estrada graduated from Sylmar High School in Sylmar, California, and attended Glendale Community College and Long Beach State University.
• In 2005 with Long Beach State, he pitched to an 8–3 win-loss record and a 2.43 ERA in 18 appearances (17 starts).
• He was selected by the Washington Nationals in the sixth round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft.