Yasmani Grandal

He later became the seventh player to hit three home runs for his first three hits in the majors since 1900.

On July 4, he hit a two-run Pinch hit homer for his fourth homer in his first six hits.

Grandal finished the year hitting .297/.394/.469 with 8 home runs and 36 RBI in 60 games, 52 of them starts.

He was drafted in the 27th round by the Boston Red Sox but he did not think they made him an acceptable offer so he chose not to sign with them.

Grandal attended the University of Miami, where he played baseball for the Miami Hurricanes.

He hit .234 as a freshman and .299 as a sophomore.

Yasmani Grandal (born November 8, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago White Sox.

Grandal is a two-time MLB All-Star.

Grandal was born in Havana, Cuba, where he played shortstop and third base on a junior national team.

He emigrated to the United States with his mother, step-father, and maternal grandparents at age 10 through the lottery system.

He was also the second Padre to have a pair of home runs in his first career start since Keith Lockhart accomplished the feat in 1994, and the fourth in team history to do it from each side of the plate in a single contest.

Grandal attended Miami Springs High School in Miami Springs, Florida, where Baseball America ranked him as the 19th best high school baseball player in 2007.

Grandal was rated as one of the top defensive catchers heading into the 2007 Major League Baseball draft, but there were some questions about his hitting ability.

In 2008, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

In his 2010 season for the Hurricanes, he batted .401 with 15 home runs, 60 runs batted in (RBIs), and a .527 on-base percentage in 62 games.

He was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and finished second for the Golden Spikes Award behind Bryce Harper.

He was also named to the 2010 NCBWA Division I All-America Team.

Grandal was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2020 at its 52nd Induction Banquet on November 16, 2021.

The Cincinnati Reds selected Grandal in the first round, with the 12th overall selection, in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft.

He signed a four-year, $3.2 million major league contract with the Reds on August 16, 2010, and was added to the Reds' 40-man roster.

He made his professional baseball debut for the Arizona League Reds in 2010.

In 28 at-bats, he had eight hits and four walks.

Quickly rising through the farm system, Grandal batted .305 with 14 home runs and 68 RBIs for the Class A Bakersfield Blaze, Double-A Carolina Mudcats, and Triple-A Louisville Bats in 2011.

He also played for the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League after the 2011 season.

On December 17, 2011, the Reds traded Grandal, Edinson Vólquez, Yonder Alonso, and Brad Boxberger to the San Diego Padres for Mat Latos.

Grandal was the third catcher on the Padres' 40-man roster at the time, behind Nick Hundley and John Baker on the depth chart.

He started the 2012 season with the Triple-A Tucson Padres.

According to MLB.com, he was the Padres' third-ranked prospect and the fifth-best catching prospect in MLB.

After batting .317 with a .421 OBP and four home runs, 23 RBIs in 120 at-bats, Grandal was promoted to San Diego as they needed another batter on the bench.

He made his major league debut on June 2, 2012, entering as a defensive replacement and flying out in his only at-bat against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

He was reassigned to Tucson the next day and was selected to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.

In his first major-league start, just hours after being recalled from Tucson on June 30, 2012, Grandal became the first player in MLB history to homer from both sides of the plate for his first career hits in the same game (against Colorado Rockies pitchers Christian Friedrich and Jeremy Guthrie).

On November 7, 2012, MLB suspended Grandal for 50 games for testing positive for having a high testosterone level.

He did not appeal the suspension and served his suspension at the beginning of the 2013 season.

In a January 2013 report, he, along with several other Major League Baseball players, was linked to Biogenesis of America, a clinic that allegedly produced performance-enhancing drugs.

On July 6, 2013, Grandal suffered a knee injury and left the game.

An MRI revealed significant damage in the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament, which prematurely ended his 2013 season.

In 28 games in 2013, he hit .216 with one home run and nine RBIs.

In 2014, despite posting a disappointing slash line, .225/.327/.401, Grandal stayed healthy throughout the season.