Brett Oberholtzer
Brett Raymond Oberholtzer is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles Angels.
Early life
Oberholtzer attended William [Penn High School (Delaware)|William Penn High School] in New Castle, Delaware, where he pitched for the school's baseball team. He was named to the All-Delaware team in 2006. He was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 47th round of the 2007 [Major League Baseball draft], but did not sign.College career
Oberholtzer then attended Seminole Community College, a junior college, for one year.Professional career
Atlanta Braves
Minor leagues
The Atlanta Braves drafted Oberholtzer in the eighth round in the 2008 Major League Baseball draft, and assigned him to the rookie–level Gulf Coast League Braves. In ten relief pitching appearances, he posted a 4–1 win–loss record, 2.89 earned run average, and 32 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched. In 2009, Oberholtzer was assigned to the Appalachian League's Danville Braves, where he made the first 12 starts of his professional career. On July 6, 2009, he was named the Appalachian League's pitcher of the week. In 67 total innings, Oberholtzer went 6–2 with a 2.01 ERA and 56 strikeouts. He made his full-season baseball debut in 2010, splitting the season between the Single–A Rome Braves and the High–A Myrtle Beach Pelicans. In 26 combined appearances, 22 of which were starts, Oberholtzer pitched to a 6–8 record, 3.78 ERA, and 126 strikeouts in 135 innings.In 2011, Oberholtzer was assigned to the Double–A Mississippi Braves, where he won the Southern League's pitcher of the week award on July 25 and was named a mid-season All-Star. With the Braves, he posted a 9–9 record, 3.74 ERA, and 93 strikeouts.
Houston Astros
On July 25, 2011, the Braves traded Oberholtzer to the Houston Astros alongside Juan Abreu, Paul Clemens, and Jordan Schafer in exchange for Michael Bourn. Oberholtzer was assigned to the Double–A Corpus Christi Hooks for the remainder of the 2011 minor league season, and pitched to a 2–3 record, 5.27 ERA, and 28 strikeouts. He split time in 2012 with Corpus Christi and the Triple–A Oklahoma City RedHawks. In a career-high 166 innings pitched, Oberholtzer posted a 10–10 win–loss record, 4.37 ERA, and 137 strikeouts.Major leagues
Oberholtzer made his Major League debut on April 21, 2013. He made his first career start and got his first career win against the Baltimore Orioles, on July 31. During his tenure with the Astros in 2013, he appeared in 13 games going 4-5 with a 2.76 ERA and 45 strikeouts. With Triple–A Oklahoma City in 2013, Oberholtzer pitched to a 6–6 record in 16 starts, with a 4.37 ERA and 72 strikeouts. Oberholtzer made 24 starts with the Astros in 2014, and five in Triple-A. With Houston, he went 5–13 with a 4.39 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 143 innings. In his five minor league starts, Oberholtzer posted a 1–2 win–loss record with a 4.65 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 31 total innings.Oberholtzer battled a blister on his left index finger early in the 2015 season. He was placed on the disabled list on March 31, and was activated in May. Oberholtzer was pulled from his first start after three inning when the blister recurred, and went on the disabled list once again. On June 27, after giving up 6 runs in innings to the New York Yankees, Oberholtzer was immediately ejected when he intentionally threw at Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez; although Oberholtzer said it was inadvertent, immediately after the game the Astros optioned him to Triple–A. He would make just eight starts for the Astros in 2015, going 2–2 with a 4.46 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 38 innings. With the Triple–A Fresno Grizzlies, Oberholtzer went 7–4 in 12 starts, with a 3.86 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 70 total innings.