We got to witness rookie pitcher Jesús Luzardo’s 2020 debut on Saturday in the 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. And while it was still out of the bullpen, it might not be too much longer until he’s a member of the starting rotation.
Especially if the decision were left up to him.
“I feel like I am [ready], me personally, just in terms of how my arm feels and the strength of my arm right now,” Luzardo told reporters after the game. “I felt good throughout the whole outing, but at the end of the day it’s not my decision, so if they want me in the bullpen again, I’ll throw gladly in the bullpen.”
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Luzardo had three strong innings giving up just one hit, striking out two.
A’s manager Bob Melvin said they at least wanted him to go two innings, but the world got a little excited when they saw Luzardo warming in the bullpen.
“For a guy that’s been sitting in his room for a while and threw a bullpen to a couple hitters to give us 45 pitches, or whatever it was -- and get himself in one little jam, and keep the ball in the infield and not give up a run, there were a lot of good things that tested him today and he came through with flying colors throwing 98 miles an hour, throwing all of those pitches,” Melvin told reporters during postgame availability.
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“I’m glad we were able to get him three ups and get him close to 60 pitches,” Melvin added.
So, what does that mean? Well, we’ll see.
“Nowadays if you can throw 60-65 pitches, you might be in a position to start,” Melvin said. “Now we’re kind of right on the border there so we’ll see. We’ll have a decision to make at some point -- maybe this time, maybe not. We give him one more outing, we’re probably in a good position to start him, but I’m not ruling anything out at this point.”
Luzardo had a slight setback when he tested positive for coronavirus heading into summer camp. That meant he had to isolate him for a time and have two negative tests within 24 hours of one another, according to the MLB safety protocols. That resulted in a delay in his Oakland arrival.
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Last season, Luzardo, the A’s top prospect, was sensational in relief striking out 16 in 12 innings and boasting a 1.50 ERA.
It’ll be soon, but the team appears they don’t want to rush it -- which is the case for many great things in life.