Craig Bjornson was named Astros Major League bullpen coach in January of 2012, marking his first career big league coaching assignment.
Bjornson, a former pitcher in the Astros Minor League system, has 13 years of experience in professional baseball, mostly as a pitching coach. Recently, he served as pitching coach for the Rookie-level Casper Ghosts of the Rockies organization for the past three seasons (2009-11).
The 42-year-old Bjornson, who speaks Spanish, has also worked as pitching coach for the Vermont Expos (1999, 2003 and 2005), Spokane Indians (2002), Brevard County Manatees (2004) and the Ogden Raptors (2006-2008).
He also spent three seasons as pitching coach for the Occidente Pastora de los Llanos of the Venezuelan Winter League (2000-03).
A former left-handed pitcher, Bjornson was signed by the Astros as a non-drafted free agent in 1991 after pitching at Nicholls State University in Louisiana. He pitched three seasons in the Astros farm system from 1991-93, posting an overall mark of 9-18 with a 3.82 ERA in 81 appearances (27 starts) with a complete game and three saves.
He was 3-4 with a 3.71 ERA between three stops in 1991. In '92, he went 4-8 with a 3.70 ERA for the Asheville Tourists and 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA for the Auburn Astros. Bjornson ended his playing career with the Quad Cities River Bandits in 1993.
