Francisco Liriano

Francisco Liriano Casillas (born October 26, 1983) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Detroit Tigers. Liriano was an MLB All-Star in 2006, and is a two-time winner of the MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award.\n', ' Liriano signed with the San Francisco Giants as an international free agent in 2000. After the 2003 season, the Giants traded him to the Minnesota Twins, along with pitchers Joe Nathan and Boof Bonser, in exchange for catcher A. J. Pierzynski.\n', ' Often compared to former teammate Johan Santana, another hard-throwing lefty, Liriano was touted as one of the "super-prospects" within the Twins organization.[citation needed] As a member of the Rochester Red Wings, Minnesota\'s Triple-A farm club, Liriano was awarded the 2005 International League Rookie of the Year. He led all minor league pitchers in strikeouts that year, with 204. He made his major league debut in relief on September 5, 2005, against the Texas Rangers. He later joined the Twins\' starting rotation and won his first game on September 30, 2005, against the Detroit Tigers. Liriano started the 2006 season in Minnesota\'s bullpen, but was promoted to the starting rotation in May, exchanging positions with struggling starter Carlos Silva. He won each of his first three starts.\n', '