Austin Daniel Pruitt was originally signed by Rays scout Pat Murphy…graduated from College Park HS in The Woodlands, Texas…had his No. 1 jersey retired by College Park in 2017…started his collegiate career at Navarro JC in Texas...was a member of the 2011 National JUCO World Series championship team and led the nation with a 0.81 ERA…transferred to the University of Houston, where he earned Conference USA Second Team honors in 2013.
2022
Began the year at Triple-A Las Vegas but spent most of the season with the A’s where he was 0-1 with a save, a 4.23 ERA and .698 opponents OPS in a career-high 39 appearances, including one start, over two stints...The OPS was the lowest of his career, as was his .226 opponents batting average and .259 on-base percentage…yielded a career-high tying 11 home runs...Walked just nine batters in 55.1 innings (1.46 per nine innings) and struck out 38 for a career-best strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.22...His opponents batting average broke down to .203 (17-for-79) with a .675 opponents OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .241 (32-for-133) with a .710 opponents OPS against right-handers....Allowed a .325 batting average with runners in scoring position and now has a .301 career opponents average with RISP....Posted a 5.09 ERA and .776 opponents OPS in 15 games before the All-Star Break, a 3.62 ERA and .639 OPS in 24 outings after the break...Allowed 5-of-12 (41.7%) inherited runners to score…first batters faced were 7-for-35 (.200) with two walks and a hit by pitch (.263 on-base percentage)...had a 0.67 ERA in 20 games on one or two days rest, a 7.62 ERA in his other appearances…his career splits are 2.17 on one or two days rest, 5.49 in all other contests....Compiled a 3.03 ERA in Oakland, a 5.96 ERA on the road...Yielded 16 of his 29 runs in the seventh inning for an 11.91 ERA…had a 2.25 ERA in all other innings....Tossed at least two innings in 10 of his 39 appearances....Went 1-0 with a save, a 3.27 ERA and .599 opponents OPS in 12 relief appearances with Las Vegas....Struck out 20 batters in 22.0 innings and walked just two (0.82 per nine innings)…did not surrender a home run....Allowed a .238 opponents batting average, which broke down to .200 (7-for-35) with a .492 OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .265 (13-for-49) with a .676 OPS against righthanders....Allowed 1-of-5 (20.0%) inherited runners to score and first batters faced were 3-for-11 (.273) with a hit by pitch....Picked up the win in his first outing with Las Vegas on April 5 against Reno and had the save in his third appearance on April 13 at Salt Lake…had a 0.00 ERA over his first three appearances…then allowed nine runs over his next seven games for a 5.54 ERA…had minor league season highs in innings (3.0) and strikeouts (four) on May 14 against Salt Lake… had back-to-back scoreless appearances on May 19 at Reno (2.1 ip) and May 24 at Tacoma (2.0 ip) and was selected by Oakland on May 28…did not allow a run in eight of his first 10 appearances with the A’s…had a 4.72 ERA over that span as he allowed a season-high four runs on June 8 at Atlanta and June 21 against Seattle…allowed back-to-back-to-back home runs in the contest against the Mariners (Rodriguez, Winker, Suarez)…became the first A’s reliever to yield three straight home runs since Keith Foulke on Sept. 18, 2008, against Los Angeles (AL)… had season highs in runs (four) and hits (four) that day against the Mariners…had his longest outing as a reliever on July 3 at Seattle when he allowed one run in 4.1 innings and struck out a season-high six…matched his season high with four runs on four hits in 3.0 innings of relief on July 10 against Houston…walked a career-high tying three batters that day, his only outing with more than one walk…that gave him a 5.32 ERA over his first 14 games…then had a 2.08 ERA and .188 opponents batting average over his next seven games from July 12 to Aug. 6… did not walk a batter over an 11-game stretch from Aug. 21 to Sept. 30 (16.2ip)…recorded the final two outs of the A’s 5-3 win over Seattle on Aug. 21 for the save…it came in his 100th career appearance and it was his first save since Sept. 30, 2018, with Tampa Bay against Toronto…had a 4.78 ERA in 27 appearances when he was designated for assignment on Aug. 22…was outrighted to Las Vegas on Aug. 24 but did not appear in game before he was selected by Oakland on Aug. 27…spent the remainder of the season with the A’s, logging a 3.06 ERA over his final 12 games…made a spot start on Sept. 9 against Chicago (AL) and tossed 5.0 scoreless and hitless innings (0 bb, 2 so)…it was his first start since Sept. 5, 2019, with Tampa Bay against Toronto…faced 17 batters and allowed two baserunners, both on errors…had a no decision…left with a 3-0 lead but the bullpen allowed five runs in the ninth inning for the loss.
2021
Pitched for five different teams in two organizations after spending the first two and one-half months of the season on the injured list…combined to go 0-1 with a 3.68 ERA in six relief appearances with Houston and Miami…was also 2-2 with a 5.03 ERA in 15 games, including four starts, with Single-A Fayetteville and Triple-A Sugar Land and Jacksonville. ...Did not walk a batter in 7.1 innings in his six big league appearances. ...Allowed a .250 opponent batting average, which broke down to .167 (3-for-18) against right-handed hitters compared to .400 (4-for-10) against left-handers. ...Yielded a .286 average and both of his home runs with the bases empty, .143 with runners on. ...Stranded his only inherited runner and first batters faced were 1-for-6 (.167). ...Had a .269 opponents batting average at his minor league stops, including .242 (8-for-33) against left-handed hitters and .289 (13-for-45) with both of his home runs against right-handers. ...Opponents hit .306 with the bases empty, .207 with runners on…allowed a .211 batting average with runners in scoring position. ...Stranded his only inherited runner and first batters faced were 6-for-11 (.545).
DAY-BY-DAY: Began the season on the Houston 10-day injured list with a right elbow inflammation…was sent to Single-A Fayetteville on a rehab assignment on June 15 and had two losses in two starts (2.1 ip, 5 h, 4 r, 3 er, 1 bb, 1 so) before he was sent to Triple-A Sugar Land on June 27…went 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA in five games, including two starts, with the Skeeters before he was reinstated from the IL on July 16…did not allow a run in his final four rehab appearances (7.0 ip, 5 h, 5 so)…had a loss in two relief appearances with the Astros (2.2 ip, 3 h, 2 r, 2 er, 1 so, 2 hr) before he was designated for assignment July 28…was traded that day to Miami with minor league outfielder Bryan De La Cruz for pitcher Yimi Garcia and posted a 1.93 ERA in four relief appearances over two stints with the Marlins…made his first appearance with Miami on July 30 against New York (AL) and tossed a scoreless inning of relief…was designated for assignment on Aug. 5 and outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville on Aug. 7…made three relief appearances (3.2 ip, 2 h, 2 r, 1 er, 4 so) before he returned to Miami on Aug. 20… pitched in three more games for the Marlins (3.2 ip, 3 h, 1 r, 1 er, 4 so) and was designated for assignment again on Sept. 2…was outrighted to Jacksonville Sept. 5 and had a win and a 5.68 ERA in five relief appearances at Triple-A to finish the season.
2020
Pitched three times for the Astros in Spring Training, posting a 2.00 ERA (2ER/9IP) prior to the COVID-19 shut down...returned to the club in Summer Camp but was unable to throw due to right elbow soreness...Began the season rehabbing at the Astros alternate training site before being shut down...underwent surgery in September to repair a hairline fracture in his right elbow.
2019
Appeared in 14 games, including two starts... recorded a 4.40 ERA (23ER/47IP) with 39 strikeouts and a 1.26 WHIP...on Aug. 30 vs. CLE, tossed 5.1 shutout innings, allowing four hits with six strikeouts in what was his first start of the season...in his second and final start of year,
he threw 5.0 innings of one-run ball and struck out four.
2018
Made 23 apps over five stints with the Rays (Opening Day-April 25, May 13-June 21, June 25-July 3, July 26-Aug 3 and Sep 20 through season's end)…his final recall came after making 3 apps (2 starts) in the International League postseason, helping Triple-A Durham win the Governors' Cup title...Went at least 2 IP in 19 of his 23 apps…made 11 relief apps of at least 3 IP, tied with teammate Yonny Chirinos for 2nd-most in the majors behind teammate Ryan Yarbrough (23)…his 6 relief apps of at least 4 IP and 5 relief apps of at least 5 IP were both 3rd in the majors...Recorded 4 saves, including 3 saves of the 3 IP (or more) variety…has 4 saves in his career of this type, tied with Matt Andriese for most in club history...Originally was optioned to Durham on March 25, but was recalled before the season to replace Nathan Eovaldi (10-day DL) on the active roster, his second Opening Day roster...On Opening Day vs. BOS, did not allow a run in 2 IP and recorded the win after the Rays 6-run 8th inning…became the fifth reliever in club history with an Opening Day win and first since Fernando Rodney in 2012...On April 7 at BOS, did not allow a run in 4.1 IP, the longest scoreless relief app by a Ray since Álex Torres (5 IP) on Sep 24, 2011 vs. TOR and longest at Fenway Park since John Halama on April 29, 2004 (G2)...On April 11 at CWS, was charged with a blown save and a loss after allowing a 2-run, go-ahead homer to Matt Davidson in the 8th inning...On May 27 vs. BAL, went 5.2 IP for the second save of his career…it was the longest app ending with a save in franchise history…previous mark was 4 IP, 4x-last Matt Andriese on May 14, 2015 vs. NYY…since the save became an official statistic in 1969, it was only the fourth time a pitcher went at least 5.2 IP and recorded a save, following TEX Joaquin Benoit on Sep 3, 2002 at BAL (7 IP), TEX Horacio Pina on April 23, 1972 vs. CAL (6 IP) and OAK Bob Locker on Aug 12, 1970 vs. CLE (5.2 IP)...From May 22-June 7, went at least 5 IP in four consecutive relief apps, the first pitcher to do that (without a start in between) since PIT Bill Swift (4) from May 19-30, 1939…on June 7 vs. SEA, went 7 IP to match the longest outing for a reliever in franchise history...On July 27 at BAL, yielded 8 R/6 ER in the 7th inning, including a 3-run homer to Adam Jones and 3-run double to Joey Rickard…his 8 runs were a career high, and his 6 ER tied a career high…was the first Ray to allow 8 runs in a frame since Jeremy Hellickson on June 13, 2013 vs. KC (6th inning)…his 8 runs allowed were the most by a Rays reliever since Travis Harper on June 21, 2005 at NYY-though Jalen Beeks allowed 8 R/ER in his Rays debut the very next day.
2017
Made 30 apps (8 starts) over three stints with the Rays, his first career major league action (Opening Day-May 9, May 31-June 27 and July 28 through the end of the season)... Went 2-3 with a 4.19 ERA (43-IP, 20-ER) and .245 opp avg. in his 8 starts, compared to 5-2 with a 6.53 ERA (40-IP, 29-ER) and .350 opp avg. in 22 relief apps... His 7 wins ranked 5th among AL rookies…his 5 wins as a reliever tied for 3rd among AL rookies, one shy of co-leaders LAA Keynan Middleton and SEA Tony Zych…only two rookies in franchise history ever recorded more wins as a reliever: Lance Carter (7) in 2003 and Victor Zambrano (6) in 2001... Threw first-pitch strikes to 66.0 pct. of batters faced, which would have ranked 5th in the majors if he qualified…according to Stats LLC, the only qualifier in franchise history to throw firstpitch strikes at a higher rate was David Price in 2014 (72.3) and 2013 (67.5)... Became the fourth pitcher in club history to make his major league debut on Opening Day, joining Ruddy Lugo (2006), Jason Childers (2006) and Seth McClung (2003)... Yielded runs in his first 6 career apps, though his only run allowed on Opening Day vs. NYY was unearned…it was the most consecutive apps by a reliever with a run to start their career in franchise history…he was the first pitcher to start his career that way since SD/PIT Marty McLeary in 2004-06 (6)... On April 19 vs. DET, recorded his first career win…retired his first 8 BF and faced the minimum 10 batters over 3.1 IP... Earned the win in 3 consecutive relief apps, April 19-28…was the first AL rookie with 3 wins in April since NYY Masahiro Tanaka in 2014… was the third Rays rookie with 3 wins in April and first since Lance Carter in 2003... Made his first career start on April 25 at BAL, a spot start due to the uncertain weather forecast…was chosen to start about 30 minutes before first pitch…his only hit allowed in 3 IP (all scoreless) was a Jonathan Schoop double... On June 23 vs. BAL, entered in the 7th inning, inherited a 14-5 lead, and did not allow a run in 3 IP of a 15-5 win for his first career save…was the first Ray with a save in a winning margin of 10 runs or more since Dale Thayer on May 22, 2009 at FLA (15-2)…just over two months later, Matt Andriese recorded a save in a 12-0 win on Aug 28 at KC... On Aug 2 at HOU, defeated Dallas Keuchel in front of 200 friends and family in the crowd… became the second rookie in club history to earn a win in a scoreless start against the majors' highest-scoring offense (also Scott Kazmir on Sep 14, 2004 at BOS, over Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez and the eventual World Series champions)…snapped Keuchel's 9-game winning streak to start the season and 11-game winning streak, dating back to Aug 21, 2016…it was the first time the Rays ever spoiled an opposing pitcher's record of 9-0 or better... Was the second pitcher in club history with scoreless apps in 2 of his first 3 starts with the Rays, joining James Shields (second and third starts were scoreless in 2006).
2016
Named Most Valuable Player for Triple-A Durham by the Rays Baseball Operations department…spent the entire season with the Bulls, recording a career-best 28 starts, 162.2 IP, 149 SO and 1.19 WHIP...His 149 SO ranked 2nd in the International League to teammate Jaime Schultz (163)… finished 3rd among Rays minor leaguers to Schultz and Jacob Faria (157)...Also ranked among IL leaders in starts (tied for 1st), innings (4th) and WHIP (4th)…allowed a league-high 21 HR...Named to the IL midseason All-Star Team...Opened the season with a career-high 11 SO in back-to-back starts, the first two times in his career reaching double digits...Credited his uptick in strikeouts to the implementation of a cutter and the guidance of Bulls pitching coach Kyle Snyder...Issued only 27 BB, his fewest in three seasons with full-season affiliates…issued 1 BB or fewer in 22 of 28 starts, including 9 starts of 0 BB...Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 29 prospect in the Rays organization following the season…also tabbed by the publication as having the Best Control in the Rays system… earned the IL nod for Best Control in its Best Tools survey as well.
