Mike Rabelo
| Mike Rabelo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Florida Marlins – No. 58 | |
| Catcher | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
| debut | |
| September 23, 2006, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Career statistics (through April 24, 2008) | |
| Batting average | .248 |
| Home runs | 2 |
| Runs batted in | 22 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
Michael Gregory Rabelo (born January 17, 1980 in Template:City-state) is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Florida Marlins.
Rabelo grew up in the city of New Port Richey, Florida, and attended Ridgewood High School. Following his senior year of high school in 1998, Rabelo was drafted in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox. He did not sign, however, instead choosing to play collegiate baseball for the University of Tampa Spartans.[1] Following his junior season of college, the Detroit Tigers signed Rabelo after selecting him in the 4th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball amateur draft.[2]
Professional career
Rabelo began his career with the class A Oneonta Tigers of the New York - Penn League, where he was named an all star at catcher. He later played for the class A West Michigan Whitecaps in 2002 and 2003; the class A Lakeland Flying Tigers in 2004; the AA Erie SeaWolves in 2004, 2005, and 2006; and the AAA Toledo Mud Hens to finish out the 2006 season. During his time in the minors, Rabelo developed a reputation as a personal catcher for pitcher Joel Zumaya. Rabelo was added to the Tigers 40 man roster in September 2006, and made his debut the same month.
Rabelo began the 2007 season third on the Tigers catching depth chart behind established veterans Iván Rodríguez and backup Vance Wilson. During spring training, Wilson experienced elbow pain, and later learned he would have to undergo Tommy John surgery. As a result, Rabelo began the season on the 25 man active roster, and has generally played well, maintaining a batting average that surpasses his minor league average of .263. He hit his first major league home run on September 30, 2007, the last game of the season off Mike MacDougal of the Chicago White Sox.
On December 5, 2007, the Tigers traded Rabelo, Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, Dallas Trahern, Eulogio De La Cruz and Burke Badenhop to the Florida Marlins for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.[3]
References
- ^ Cristodero, Damian (July 29, 1998). "Rabelo picks UT over Boston". St. Petersburg Times. p. 8C.
- ^ Cotey, John C (June 22, 2001). "Rabelo, Tigers agree on contract". St. Petersburg Times. p. 4.
- ^ Passan, Jeff (December 4 2007). "Cabrera, Willis dealt to Tigers". Yahoo!Sports. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
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