Vincent Joseph Pasquantino (born October 10, 1997) is an American professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.
| Vinnie Pasquantino | |
|---|---|
 Pasquantino with the Kansas City Royals in 2024 | |
| Kansas City Royals – No. 9 | |
| First baseman / Designated hitter | |
| Born: October 10, 1997 Richmond, Virginia, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 28, 2022, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |
| Batting average | .267 |
| Home runs | 38 |
| Runs batted in | 149 |
| Teams | |
| |
Amateur career
editPasquantino attended James River High School in Midlothian, Virginia. In 2016, he enrolled at Old Dominion University and played college baseball for the Old Dominion Monarchs. In 2018, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1] After his junior season at Old Dominion, he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 11th round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[2]
Professional career
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Pasquantino made his professional debut in 2019 with the Rookie-level Burlington Royals, batting .294 with 14 home runs and 53 runs batted in (RBIs) over 57 games.[3] He did not play in 2020 because the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] He started the 2021 season with the Single-A Quad Cities River Bandits before being promoted to the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals.[5] Over 116 games between the two teams, he slashed .300/.394/.563 with 24 home runs, 84 RBIs, and 37 doubles.[6]
Pasquantino opened the 2022 season with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers. After the Royals traded first baseman Carlos Santana on June 27, Pasquantino was promoted to the active roster.[7] On July 1, Pasquantino hit a home run off of Detroit Tigers starter Michael Pineda for his first career major league hit.[8] He hit his second career homer on July 11, coincidentally also off of Pineda.[9] He was named the American League player of the week for August 8 to 14 when he hit .455 with four home runs and six RBIs in six games.[10]
Pasquantino made the Opening Day roster for Kansas City in 2023. Playing in 61 games, he hit .247/.324/.437 with 9 home runs and 26 RBI.[11][12] On June 14, 2023, it was announced that Pasquantino would undergo season–ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.[13][14]
Pasquantino began the 2024 season as the Royals' starting first baseman. During a game versus the Houston Astros on August 29, Pasquantino suffered a broken right thumb when Astros catcher Yainer Diaz ran into his outstretched hand as he attempted to field a throw from pitcher Lucas Erceg. He underwent surgery which ended his regular season.[15] He played in 131 regular season games in 2024, slashing a combined .262/.315/.446 with 19 home runs, and 97 RBIs.[16]
On October 1, 2024, Pasquantino was added to the Royals' postseason roster for their Wild Card round matchup against the Baltimore Orioles.[17]
International career
editPasquantino was on the Italy national baseball team roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.[18]
Personal life
editPasquantino and Ryann Harris announced their engagement in September 2022. Like Pasquantino, Harris attended Old Dominion University, where she played for the women's soccer team.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Vinnie Pasquantino - Cape Cod Baseball League - player". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ "Kansas City Royals select ODU's Vinnie Pasquantino in 11th round of MLB Draft". News 3 WTKR Norfolk. June 5, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ Sutton, Bob (July 6, 2019). "Pasquantino's big night highlights Royals' romp". Burlington Times News. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ "Andre Lipcius and Vinnie Pasquantino lost their minor league season. The Peninsula Pilots helped give some of it back". August 11, 2020.
- ^ Batterson, Steve (July 3, 2021). "Competition, podcast lessons motivate Pasquantino". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ Lewis, Alec (September 24, 2021). "The rise of under-the-radar Royals prospect Vinnie Pasquantino: 'He could run for mayor'". The Athletic. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ Grathoff, Pete (June 27, 2022). "It's Vinnie Pasquantino's time as Kansas City Royals trade Carlos Santana: The details". KansasCity.com. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ Worthy, Lynn (July 2, 2022). "Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino got tagged out and hit his first homer on the same play". Kansas City Star. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ Han, Nathan. "Seeing double? KC Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino slams second homer in similar fashion". Kansas City Star. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
- ^ "A Royal and a Friar net Player of the Week honors". MLB.com.
- ^ Rogers, Anne (June 14, 2023). "Pasquantino (right shoulder) likely out for season in blue day for KC". MLB.com. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ Thompson, Jaylon (June 14, 2023). "Kansas City Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino will miss the remainder of the 2023 MLB season". Kansas City Star. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ "Royals lose Vinnie Pasquantino for rest of 2023 with shoulder injury as K.C.'s season gets even worse". cbssports.com. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- ^ "Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino to have surgery for torn labrum". ESPN.com. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
- ^ Rogers, Anne (August 30, 2024). "Pasquantino has broken right thumb, out 6-8 weeks". MLB.com. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
- ^ "Vinnie Pasquantino Likely To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery". thereportonsports.com. September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
- ^ "Vinnie Pasquantino returns to Royals roster for AL Wild Card Series". ESPN. October 1, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
- ^ Castrovince, Anthony (February 10, 2023). "Team Italy World Baseball Classic 2023 roster". MLB.com. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
- ^ "Vinnie Pasquantino gets engaged after final home game of the season". WDAF-TV. September 26, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet