The Oakland Athletics promoted left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo on Monday.
Luzardo, 22, is regarded as one of the best prospects in baseball. He was ranked as the seventh-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America and No. 12 by MLB.com in the preseason.
Luzardo has pitched in only 11 games (nine starts) this season across three levels due to injuries. With Triple-A Las Vegas, he is 1-1 with a 3.19 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 31 innings.
While Luzardo was a starter in Triple-A, he is expected to appear out of the bullpen with Oakland.
The Athletics are 84-59 this season and began Monday’s play in the lead for the second wild-card spot, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians.