Andrew Jacob Puk ( ; born April 25, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the Miami Marlins of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the Florida Gators.

Amateur career

Puk attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and pitcher in baseball and also played football as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 35th round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

, but did not sign and attended the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

to play

. As a freshman at Florida, Puk appeared in 19 games and made seven starts. He had a 5–2

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

with a 3.35

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), 44 strikeouts, and one save. In April 2015, Puk and a teammate were arrested and charged with third-degree criminal trespass after they climbed a crane inside a marked construction site on Florida's campus. The charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor and he was briefly suspended. After the suspension, Puk returned to help lead the Gators to the 2015 College World Series.

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

Puk was ranked among the top prospects for the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be di ...

in early rankings. The Oakland Athletics selected him in the first round with the sixth overall pick of the draft. He signed a contract with a $4,069,200 signing bonus and was assigned to the

Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont. From 1994 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They play their home games at Centennial Field, on ...

of the

Class A Short-Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York-Penn League. He finished the 2016 season with a 0–4 record and a 3.03 ERA in 10 starts. Puk spent 2017 with the Stockton Ports of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League and the

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, w ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, pitching in 27 games (24 starts), posting a combined 6–10 record with a 4.03 ERA, along with 184 strikeouts in 124 innings pitched, between both teams. On April 11, 2018, Puk underwent Tommy John surgery, forcing him to miss the 2018 season. Puk began the 2019 season with Midland, and was promoted to the

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Pacific Coast League during the season. On August 20, the Athletics promoted Puk to the major leagues. Puk made his major league debut against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

on August 21, retiring one of three batters faced. Puk earned his first career win on September 5, 2019, pitching two innings in relief with one earned run and two strikeouts. Puk finished the season with a 2–0 record with a 3.18 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 10 appearances (11 innings pitched). On September 6, 2020, Puk continued to have lingering issues in his throwing shoulder during training. On September 11, 2020, Athletic's manager

Bob Melvin Robert Paul Melvin (born October 28, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach, who is the manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has been named Manager of the Year three times. Selected in t ...

officially shut him down for the season. He was scheduled to have shoulder surgery on September 16, 2020. In 2021, Puk appeared in 12 games for Oakland, registering an 0-3 record and 6.08 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched. After being stretched out as a starter in Spring Training in 2022, Puk returned to the bullpen, appearing in 62 contests for the Athletics. Puk recorded his first career save on July 22 against the Texas Rangers. In 66.1 innings pitched, he worked to a 4-3 record and 3.12 ERA with 4 saves and 76 strikeouts.

Miami Marlins

On February 11, 2023, the Athletics traded Puk to the Miami Marlins in exchange for

JJ Bleday Jeffrey Joseph Bleday (born November 10, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Miami Marlins. Amateur career Bleday grew up in Ti ...

International career

In the summer of 2015, Puk played for the United States collegiate national team. Against Cuba, Puk, Tanner Houck and Ryan Hendrix combined to throw a no-hitter.

References

External links

Florida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puk, A. J. 1995 births Living people Sportspeople from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Baseball players from Iowa Major League Baseball pitchers Oakland Athletics players Miami Marlins players Florida Gators baseball players Vermont Lake Monsters players Stockton Ports players Midland RockHounds players Las Vegas Aviators players Waterloo Bucks players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players