Edinson Volquez

Edinson Volquez is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds. Volquez was born in the Dominican Republic. Volquez worked himself through the minor leagues and made his big league debut in 2005 during the Nightcap against the White Sox, becoming the first Texas Rangers pitcher to start in his debut since Chris Young did it on August, 2004.

After a bad start, Volquez was sent back to the minors for most of season. Yet his fastball was rated the best in the Rangers League. 2006 saw him playing most of the season with AAA. In 2007 he won the Nolan Ryan Pitcher of the Year Award for the best Ranger minor league pitcher. Volquez was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Josh Hamilton. On April 8, 2008, Volquez made his Reds debut in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, and with the help of his team won the game by the score of 8-2.http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN200804060.shtml

Due to injury, Volquez didn't start pitching for the Reds in the 2010 season until July 17, 2010, when he made his start of the year against the Colorado Rockies. Volquez would end up making 12 starts in the season, finishing with a 4-3 record. Volquez struck out 67 batters in his 12 starts and registered a 4.31 ERA.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?n1=volqued01&t=p&year=2010

Volquez would make his playoff debut when the Reds won the NL Central division in 2010. Volquez's start against the Phillies in game one of the National League Division Series. He would last just over one inning, allowing four hits, four runs and two walks. The Reds went on to lose the game and were eliminated from the playoffs two games later.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/volqued01.shtml

The 2009 season was the second straight that Volquez entered within the Cincinnati Reds rotation. He would make nine starts in the season, registering a 4-2 record with a 4.35 ERA in that timespan.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?n1=volqued01&t=p&year=2009

During a June 1, 2009 start against the St. Louis Cardinals, Volquez suffered a severe shoulder injury that would require Tommy John surgery.http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4374407 The injury would sideline Volquez for the remainder of the season.