Luzardo Sharp In Spring Debut For Athletics

The 22 year-old was recently ranked as the ninth top-prospect among all teams according to Baseball America

After getting a taste of their top-prospect last season, the Oakland Athletics are looking forward to seeing pitcher Jesus Luzardo in action for a full season in 2020.

The 22 year-old left-hander made his Spring Training debut on Monday, striking out two batters and allowing one hit over two innings of work in a 9-6 A’s loss to the San Diego Padres in Arizona.

Luzardo, who made his debut last season, will go into the 2020 season with his rookie status intact. The hard-throwing lefty will look to provide the Athletics with a devastating arm to round out the rotation, filling into the void left by former starter Brett Anderson who signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.

After being acquired in a deal during the 2017 trade deadline, Luzardo has excelled during his three seasons in the minor-leagues.

Over 46 career-games in the minors, Luzardo struck out 234 batters over 195.2 innings, going 14-7 with a 2.53 ERA in the process. His 10.8 strikeouts per-nine innings and 1.03 WHIP opened eyes around the league, prompting the Athletics to call him up for late-season help out of the bullpen.

The call up to the big-leagues didn’t phase Luzardo, not in the slightest.

In six games for the Athletics during the 2019 season, the rookie struck out 16 batters over 12 innings, only giving up two runs in the process. He would finish with two saves and a 1.50 ERA while also claiming a roster spot for the American League Wild Card Game.

Oakland would go on to lose to the Tampa Bay Rays in the one-game playoff, but Luzardo did all that he could to give the Athletics a shot.

In his postseason debut, Luzardo went three innings, striking out four batters while allowing no runs during the Athletics loss.

With a big year on the horizon for Oakland, expect Jesus Luzardo to be a big part of the team’s success while making a run for Rookie of The Year in the process.

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