Curt Casali

Curt Casali

Casali with the Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 19
Catcher
Born: (1988-11-09) November 9, 1988
Walnut Creek, California
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 18, 2014, for the Tampa Bay Rays
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Batting average .195
Home runs 18
Runs batted in 46
Teams

Curtis Michael Casali (born November 9, 1988) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2014.

Amateur career

Casali was born in Walnut Creek, California, but raised in New Canaan, Connecticut. Casali attended New Canaan High School, where he also starred in basketball, and football as a quarterback, leading the team to a state championship. Casali earned first-team All-State honors in football and baseball, and was named the second best prospect from Connecticut/Rhode Island in the June 2007 draft.[1]

Casali batting for the Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2012

Casali played college baseball at Vanderbilt University.[2] During his four years at Vanderbilt, he had a .316 batting average, a .430 on-base percentage, a .502 slugging percentage, 27 home runs, and 167 runs batted in (RBI). Casali made it to the College World Series finals twice with Vanderbilt, but finished as runner-up each time.

Professional career

The Detroit Tigers selected Casali in the 10th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft.[3] He made his professional debut that season for the Connecticut Tigers. On March 25, 2013, the Tigers traded Casali to the Tampa Bay Rays for Kyle Lobstein.[4][5] The Rays assigned him to the Charlotte Stone Crabs and then promoted him to the Montgomery Biscuits.[6][7] In 35 games with Montgomery, Casali hit .383 with a .483 on-base percentage and .600 slugging percentage, with five home runs. Overall he hit .317/.405/.489 and 10 home runs. In 2014, he was invited to spring training by the Rays.[8] He returned to Montgomery to start the 2014 season.[9] He was promoted to the Durham Bulls in May.[10][11]

On July 18, 2014, Casali played his first major league game against the Minnesota Twins. He recorded a hit in his first at bat and a run later in the inning. On July 28, 2015 Casali hit two home runs in one game against the Detroit Tigers.[12] One night later, Casali repeated the feat by hitting two homers against former teammate and fellow Vanderbilt alum David Price.[13][14]

Casali opened the 2016 season in a platoon with Hank Conger.[15] Casali hit .169 before being optioned to the Durham Bulls on August 4, 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "Curt Casali Bio - Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site". Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  2. ↑ "New Canaan's Curt Casali finds success with Vanderbilt baseball". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  3. ↑ Devlin, Paul (June 8, 2011). "New Canaan's Casali Drafted by Detroit Tigers". Weston-Redding-Easton, CT Patch. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Rays acquire catcher Curt Casali from Tigers". Tampa Bay Rays. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Detroit trades Casali to Tampa Bay Rays". New Canaan Advertiser. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  6. ↑ "New Canaan's Casali promoted to Tampa Bay's Double-A squad; goes 3-for-3 in debut". New Canaan News. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Casali promoted to Double-A Montgomery Biscuits". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Tampa Bay Rays Invite New Canaan's Curt Casali To Spring Training". New Canaan Daily Voice. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  9. ↑ Biscuits Season Opener - Set for another go-round: Former Vanderbilt teammates share journey
  10. ↑ "Connecticut's Curt Casali moving up to Triple-A Durham Bulls". New Canaan Advertiser. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  11. ↑ "New Canaan's Casali Rides Hot Streak Closer To Major Leagues". New Canaan Daily Voice. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  12. ↑ Dinan, Terry (July 27, 2015). "New Canaan's Curt Casali Hits Two Home Runs for Tampa Bay Rays". NewCanaanite.com. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  13. ↑ Dinan, Terry (July 28, 2015). "'Déjà Vu All Over Again': Casali Homers Twice for Second Consecutive Game". NewCanaanite.com. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  14. ↑ Calcaterra, Craig Curt Casali is having one heck of a week NBC Sports. July 29, 2015
  15. ↑
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