A photo of Cesar Carrillo.
Cesar Carrillo (born April 29, 1984 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American minor league baseball player with the San Diego Padres organization of Major League Baseball.
High school career[]
Carrillo attended Mt. Carmel High School in Chicago which boasts other famous sports alums such as Donovan McNabb, Simeon Rice, Antoine Walker, Chris Chelios, and Denny McLain, where he was a two sport star in both basketball and baseball. As a junior, Carrillo decided to concentrate solely on baseball. He played both shortstop and pitcher. As a shortstop, he broke the school’s single season hit record with 52 hits his junior year to go along with a 5-1 record and a 1.12 ERA. His senior year, Carrillo posted a 9-1 record with an ERA of 0.96 while batting .370 with 5 home runs and 48 RBI which led to his selection to the All-State team.
University of Miami[]
Carillo chose to attend the University of Miami to play baseball for head coach Jim Morris. However, an irregularity was noted by the proctor who administered the ACT exam which Carrillo took to gain entry into the University and he was forced by NCAA regulations to sit out the entire 2003 season.
Carrillo started the 2004 campaign with a chip on his shoulder. He went 12-0 with two saves while keeping his ERA at 2.69 and compiling 91 strikeouts in 113.2 innings pitched. The Hurricanes were 19-0 in every game Carrillo had appeared in, and 16-0 in every game that Carrillo started. Carrillo continued the undefeated streak in 2005 by going 13-0 in his first 15 games until his winning streak was ended against the Clemson University Tigers. Carrillo still managed to obtain one of the most remarkable (albeit not record breaking) streaks in the history of college baseball by starting his career with a record of 24-0. However, Carrillo lost his last two decisions as a starter, the final one coming against Nebraska and Joba Chamberlain in the 2005 Super Regional. Carrillo still managed to attain some very impressive stats in the 2005 season by going 13-3 with one save and a 2.22 ERA while striking out 127 batters in 125.2 innings pitched.
San Diego Padres[]
Carrillo was drafted in the 1st round, 18th overall in the 2005 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres. Carrillo signed immediately even though he felt that what the Padres offered him did not match what he felt he deserved. However, Carrillo felt that in the end, his skills would do all the negotiating for him and when he signed his next contract, his loyalty and willingness to prove himself would ultimately translate into a large contract. Carrillo, by most scouts’ accounts, was the most “Major League ready” pitcher in the entire draft and it was expected that he could reach the big leagues as a starter with in the next year or so. According to Sports Illustrated, Carrillo’s “stuff” (his array of pitches) is of Major League caliber. Carrillo throws a fastball, which has been clocked at 97 MPH, along with a change-up, curveball, and two-seam fastball that reaches somewhere between 89-91 MPH and has a lot of movement.
Cesar began his professional career with the Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm where he started 7 games and went 1-2 with a 7.01 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched. He then made his way up to Double-A Mobile where he went 1-3 with a 3.02 ERA to go along with 43 strikeouts in 50.2 innings pitched. On May 19, Carrillo joined the Triple-A Portland Beavers. However, he was only able to pitch 2.2 innings because of tightness in his right throwing elbow. Carrillo was sent to the Padre team specialist in San Diego and was told that he would need to rehab the elbow for roughly a month. Carrillo, as well as the Padre organization, were pleased with this as opposed to Carrillo being forced to have surgery. He is currently rehabbing in Phoenix, Arizona.
In early 2007, Carrillo's arm had not responded to rest and it was determined he needed Tommy John surgery on his elbow. He rehabbed and came back to pitch in June 2008, finishing up the year with Lake Elsinore Storm. His arm strength and control improved during the summer.