Q&A w/ Cardinals Prospect Ettore Giulianelli

Introduction to Cardinals' prospect Ettore Giulianelli

Cardinals pitching prospect Ettore Giulianelli took the world by storm last weekend with his wicked stuff, particularly a curveball of his that had 8" of arm-side run. Last Saturday, I posted a video of a 2-pitch sequence by Giulianelli: a cutter w/ -7" HB and the aforementioned curveball w/ 8" of HB (essentially a screwball). The video completely blew up all over social media and ultimately got the attention of Pitching Ninja, MiLB, and MLB.

Giulianelli is one of the fascinating players in the Cardinals organization not only for his mind-boggling pitches but also his unique backstory, signing from Italy as a 16-year-old international free agent.

Q&A

Coming from Italy, where baseball isn’t very popular, how did you get introduced to it, and what was it like to play it there? When did you realize you could make a career out of it? Who were some of your favorite players to watch growing up?

"When I was young, I enjoyed playing sports and tried many, including soccer, tennis, and swimming. However, when my parents took me to the baseball field, it felt like home. My mom played softball and introduced me to baseball, and I immediately fell in love with the sport. Baseball isn’t very popular in Italy, but I was fortunate enough to play for a great team called the “Falcons” in my hometown of Rimini. The coaches and my teammates helped me to improve and even get into the former Italian Baseball Academy."

"Although the national academy no longer exists, as it has been replaced by regional academies, in 2017, there was a national academy. There, I started working with Bill Holmberg, the pitching coach at the time. He trained me until I signed with the Cardinals. Sadly, he passed away soon after, but thanks to him, I had the opportunity to pursue a career in professional baseball. He taught me everything I know.


Playing baseball in Italy is challenging because there aren't many teams, and it’s not a popular sport, so team budgets are very limited. However, the level of play in the top league is actually quite good! I’ve always dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. When I was training at the Italian Baseball Academy, I had the chance to meet and train with some Italian players who were playing professionally in America, and I greatly admire them.


In 2019, I played in a tournament in London sponsored by MLB, where many players from across Europe, divided into teams, competed against each other. During this tournament, I realized I had a real chance, as the Cardinals saw me for the first time there. Growing up, I always watched Jacob deGrom and Tyler Glasnow's pitch—they have always been my number-one idols."