Aaron Poreda - Biography

Aaron Andermon Poreda (born October 1, 1986, in Walnut Creek, California) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball.

A first-round pick in the 2007 draft, he debuted in the major leagues at the age of 22 with the Chicago White Sox. He was traded that same season to the San Diego Padres.

Early life

Poreda is Jewish, and grew up in Moraga, California. He attended Campolindo High School, where he played baseball and was named Most Valuable Pitcher in the DFAL in 2004. He also played football for the Cougars, and was named second team All-DFAL defensive line.

College career

Poreda played college baseball at the University of San Francisco. He finished the 2005 season 2–0, with a 2.16 ERA (the fifth-lowest in team history) in 14 appearances including 2 starts.

Poreda was named West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week for March 19–25, 2006, during his sophomore year. He tossed the first complete game of his career, allowing one run off five hits and struck out a career-high nine. In 2006 he appeared in 18 games (17 as starts), and posted an 8–5 record with a team-best and WCC-best 2.49 ERA. In the NCAA regional he pitched the team to a 5–1 victory over No. 6 national seed Nebraska.

For his college career, he started 33 of 46 games, going 17–11 with 167 strikeouts. Poreda was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the first round (25th overall) in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Poreda was named Pioneer League Pitcher of the Week on September 4, 2007, while pitching for the Rookie-level Great Falls White Sox. For the season with the team, he went 4–0 with a 1.17 ERA. In 2008 while playing for the Peoria Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League, Poreda was named one of the AFL Rising Stars. Poreda was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week on May 11, 2009, while pitching for the Birmingham Barons.

On May 21, 2009, the San Diego Padres struck a 4-for-1 deal with the White Sox for Jake Peavy, which reportedly included Poreda and Chicago's other top pitching prospect, Clayton Richard. Peavy, however, invoked his no-trade clause to block the trade.

Poreda was called up to the majors for the first time on June 9, 2009. On June 12, 2009, he made his debut against the Milwaukee Brewers. Poreda picked up his first career win on June 25, 2009, after pitching a perfect 13th in the Sox' extra-innings win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. He went 1–0 with a 2.45 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 10 relief appearances with the White Sox before being optioned back to the minors on July 21.

San Diego Padres

On July 31, 2009, Poreda was traded along with Clayton Richard, Adam Russell, and Dexter Carter to the San Diego Padres for Jake Peavy. He was originally assigned to the Portland Beavers, but returned to the majors in September.

Poreda spent the entire 2010 season in the Padres' minor league system, splitting the year between the San Antonio Missions and the Beavers. For the first time, he pitched the majority of his games as a relief pitcher, appearing in 39 games with a combined record of 1-2 and ERA of 3.83.

On June 13, 2011, Poreda was designated for assignment.

See also

• List of select Jewish baseball players

External links

• University of San Francisco bio