#817 Warner Madrigal
If you thought you knew who Warner Madrigal is and are thrown off by this card, don't worry. This is the same Warner Madrigal that pitches for the Rangers. It just so happens that he began his pro career as an outfielder.
Warner was signed by the Angels in 2001 and he made his professional debut in the States in 2003 at the age of nineteen. He hit .369 in his debut season while playing Rookie ball in the Pioneer League. That was the highlight of Warner's batting stats and his average dropped every year after that for the next three seasons. By 2006, Warner was hitting .235 in the Midwest League. It was during that season that the Angels decided to convert him to a pitcher.
They sent him to the Arizona League to work on his stuff and Warner posted a 3.75 ERA in 11 innings. He was back in the Midwest League in 2007 and he posted a 2.07 ERA while recording 20 saves. Then the Angels released him.
That worked out great for the Rangers as they picked him up and assigned him to their AA team in Frisco. He blew through the Texas League and did good enough at AAA to get promoted to the big club in time to make 31 Major League appearances. He pitched in 36 innings that year and posted a 4.75 ERA with an 0-2 record and 1 save. Not bad for a guy that had been cut by a A team the previous season.
Warner spent most of 2009 in AAA and he did well there. But, it looks like he got called up to the Rangers about three different times and he did not have the same success there. He finished his 2009 Major League campaign with no record and a 9.75 ERA in only 12.2 innings of work.
I got this card signed this past summer in Springdale, Arkansas while Warner was making a rehab appearance for the Frisco Roughriders. It seems that 2010 was a rehab year for him since he did not make a single Major League appearance. But, he appears to be playing winter ball in the Dominican, so maybe he will be ready for the Majors again next season.
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