Paulo Orlando

Paulo Roberto Orlando

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 165 lb.

• Debut April 9, 2015
• Final Game July 23, 2018
• Born November 1, 1985 in São Paulo, São Paulo Brazil

BR page

Biographical Information

Paulo Orlando made his major league debut in 2015 and has also appeared on the Brazilian national team.

A track star in his youth, Orlando signed with the Chicago White Sox and scout Orlando Santana in 2005 and hit .322/~.365/.504 for the DSL White Sox. He helped Brazil win the 2005 South American Championship. In 2006, he hit .262/.305/.391 for the Kannapolis Intimidators with 10 triples and 29 stolen bases (caught 9 times). He only walked 18 times while striking out in 143 of 470 AB. He led White Sox farmhands in triples. Surprisingly, Orlando was not the only Brazilian on the team as Anderson Gomes was also in their outfield.

In 2007, Paulo batted .253/.294/.376 for the Winston-Salem Warthogs with 20 steals in 27 tries. He slightly improved his batting eye with 19 walks to 84 strikeouts in 391 AB. Baseball America named him the fastest baserunner and best defensive outfielder in the Chicago organization. He played for Brazil in the 2007 Pan American Games, going 3 for 12 with 2 steals and 2 runs; he tied Gomes for the team lead in swipes.

On August 9, 2008, Orlando was sent to the Kansas City Royals' organization in exchange for left-handed pitcher Horacio Ramirez. Orlando was assigned to the Royals' Class A team, the Wilmington Blue Rocks. He hit .262/.308/.408 with 28 steals in 37 tries for Winston-Salem before the deal, .254/.325/.507 in 18 games for Wilmington after. He paced the Carolina League that year with 14 triples between his two stops, but he also led with 8 outfield errors.

In 2009, Orlando batted .261/.303/.351 with 20 steals in 25 tries for Wilmington in his third straight season in high-A.

When Paulo made his major league debut for the Royals on April 9, 2015, he became the third Brazilian player to make the major leagues, following Yan Gomes and Andre Rienzo, who had both done so that same decade. Starting in left field against the Chicago White Sox, he hit a triple off John Danks in his first career at-bat in the 5th, after having drawn a walk in his first plate appearance. In his next start, against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on April 12th, he went 2 for 5 and scored 3 runs, with both hits again being triples. He was the first player in major league history to have his first three career hits be three-base ones and the first player since Dan Rohn in 1983 to hit at least one triple in his first two big league games. But the triples orgy did not end there. He took over in right field for the Royals when Alex Rios went on the disabled list on April 13th, and quickly adding two more triples to give him 5 in his first 7 major league games, something no one else had done as well. "Fastest man alive", quipped pitcher Danny Duffy after he stroked a liner for three bases against Tim Stauffer of the Minnesota Twins on April 20th. It took him a bit longer to get his first homer, however, as that only came on May 26th, against Adam Warren of the New York Yankees. On July 7th, he hit a 9th-inning walk-off grand slam against closer Brad Boxberger of the Tampa Bay Rays for a 9-5 win in the first game of a doubleheader.

Notable Achievements

• Won a World Series with the Kansas City Royals in 2015

Primary Sources

• 2007-2008 Baseball Almanacs
• Baseballdecuba.com
• MILB.com

Further Reading

• Jeffrey Flanagan: "Orlando makes triples history with 5th in 7 games", mlb.com, April 20, 2015. [1]

Related Sites

• Paulo Orlando on mlb.com