Time to pack your bags?
The 2017 season has not been kind to Rays rookie Austin Pruitt. The 27-year-old RHP from The Woodlands, TX may soon find himself back in the minors. Pruitt has appeared in four contests for the Rays and it seems as though he is simply overmatched.
It was a bit of a surprise when Pruitt received the news that he had made the opening day roster.
#Rays Austin Pruitt says he can’t believe it. It’s a dream come true. Audio coming.
— Neil Solondz (@neilsolondz) March 30, 2017
Making his big-league debut on opening day, Pruitt came on in relief of Chris Archer and Danny Farquhar. He was unable to record an out while surrendering two hits and allowing a run. He made two other appearances last week, another against the Yankees and one against the Blue Jays – yet again he struggled.
In those two appearances he went a combined 1.2IP – 3H – 3ER – 2BB – 1K and posted a 16.20 ERA.
Perhaps that was first week jitters. On Monday, Pruitt made an appearance at Yankee Stadium during the Yankees home opener.
Once again, he got hit hard. This time it was even worse.
In what seemed like mop-up duty, Pruitt labored through the final two-thirds of the eighth inning. Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro took Pruitt deep for his first HR of the season. In total, the rookie gave up four hits while allowing three runs (two earned). He now sports a 19.29 ERA in 2.1IP over four appearances this season – numbers that have many people calling for a change.
Have we had a big enough sample size on Austin Pruitt yet? #Rays
— Dan Lucas (@WFLADan) April 10, 2017
Austin Pruitt ain’t ready for primetime…
— Sandy Kazmir (@SandyKazmir) April 10, 2017
Unless of course you are a fan of the Yankees…
The Yankees have hit for the cycle this inning. Also, I’ve now seen Austin Pruitt pitch twice and I wish the Yankees could face him every AB
— Lou DiPietro (@LouDiPietroYES) April 10, 2017
At this point, if Austin Pruitt is to stay up with the club he better get on the phone with Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez. If you remember, Pedro had plenty of struggles against the Yankees. How can you forget the “Who’s Your Daddy” chant?!
