Brayan Rene Villarreal (born May 10, 1987) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox. He is 6'0" tall and weighs 170 pounds. Minor league career Villarreal signed with the Detroit Tigers and began his professional career in 2006, pitching for the VSL Marlins/Tigers and going 0–2 with a 3.48 ERA in 14 games (five starts). He moved to the United States in 2007, though he pitched in only one game that season—for the GCL Tigers, with whom he went 0–0 with a 6.23 ERA. In 2008, he pitched for both the GCL Tigers (11 games, six starts) and West Michigan Whitecaps (one start), going a combined 1–6 with a 4.69 ERA. In 2009, he pitched for the Whitecaps again, going 5–5 with a 2.87 ERA in 26 games (16 starts), striking out 118 batters in 103 innings of work. He split 2010 between the Lakeland Flying Tigers and Erie SeaWolves, going a combined 7–8 with a 3.55 ERA in 24 starts. He struck out 136 batters in 129 innings pitched. Villarreal was ranked among the top 20 Tigers prospects by Baseball America following the 2009, 2010, and 2011 seasons. Major league career Villarreal made the Tigers out of spring training in 2011, bypassing the Triple-A level. He made his major league debut on April 2 against the New York Yankees. On April 12, 2011, Villarreal achieved a rare feat. Entering the game with a man on first and two outs, he picked off the runner immediately. With that, Villarreal recorded a hold without throwing a single pitch. He spent 16 games at the major league level in 2011, going 1–1 with a 6.75 ERA. In 16 innings, he allowed 21 hits and 10 walks, while striking out 14 batters. He spent much of the season in the minor leagues, going 3–5 with a 5.05 ERA in 17 games (10 starts) for Triple-A Toledo. On April 8, 2012, Villarreal was called up from Triple-A Toledo after Doug Fister went on the disabled list with an injured side. Villarreal had pitched in one game with Toledo. In innings pitched, Villareal notched a 3–5 record with 2.63 ERA, 66 strikeouts, and nine holds. However, he was not selected to the Tigers' playoff roster that won the American League pennant. In the minors, he had a 1.29 ERA