After weeks of speculation, Oakland Athletics fans can officially get excited for the much-anticipated debut of top pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo.
Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports that the Athletics will call Luzardo up in advance of Oakland's series against the Houston Astros:
Source: Jesús Luzardo, the A’s No. 1 prospect, is being called up. He’ll join the club in Houston on Monday.
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) September 8, 2019
Luzardo has long been regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the game. The 21-year-old from Peru is ranked as the 18th prospect on MLB.com's Top 100 list, and he is rated as the second-best left-handed prospect in baseball.
In nine starts at the minor league level, Luzardo has compiled a 2.51 ERA and 11.9 K/9 against a 1.7 BB/9 ratio. Luzardo dominated High-A ball before getting called up to Triple-A, where he put together another run of good starts.
The Athletics have managed to get good performances from their starting pitchers in the wake of a suspension to Frankie Montas. Mike Fiers has managed to be effective, and Chris Bassitt has been one of the most dependable arms on the staff in the second half.
Oakland also made the play to acquire Tanner Roark from the Cincinnati Reds prior to the trade deadline, and Roark has rewarded his new club with a 2.70 ERA through his first six starts.
Luzardo's role is unclear as he prepares for his first big-league appearance, but Athletics manager Bob Melvin could certainly elect to deploy him out of the bullpen given the lack of left-handers he has in relief.
Regardless, the Athletics will get a chance to see what the youngster is made of as they battle it out for one of the two Wild Card spots in the American League.
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