Austin Daniel Pruitt (born August 31, 1989) 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

in the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

organization. He has previously played in

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) for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

, and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

Career

Amateur career

Pruitt attended

The Woodlands College Park High School The Woodlands College Park High School is a high school in The Woodlands, CDP area of Montgomery County, Texas in the United States. It is operated by the Conroe Independent School District (CISD), and is one of the six main high schools in the ...

The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with por ...

, where he was a four-year baseball letterer and two-year football letterer, starting at defensive back on the football team. 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 pl ...

Navarro College Navarro College is a public community college in Texas with its main campus in Corsicana and branches in Fairfield, Mexia, Midlothian, and Waxahachie. The college has an annual student enrollment of more than 9,000 students. The Corsicana ...

and was considered a standout junior college baseball player. He transferred to the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

Tampa Bay Rays

The

selected Pruitt in the ninth 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 ...

. After signing, he made his professional debut with the Hudson Valley Renegades and was promoted to the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

in July. In 14 games (seven starts), he was 0–3 with a 1.44 ERA. In 2014, he pitched for the Charlotte Stone Crabs where he pitched to a 9–7 record with a 3.73 ERA in 26 games (25 starts), and in 2015, he played with the Montgomery Biscuits where he was 10–7 with a 3.09 ERA in 26 starts. He spent 2016 with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

where he compiled an 8–11 record with a 3.76 ERA in 28 starts. The Rays added Pruitt to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. Austin Pruitt (34117770282) (Cropped)

On March 30, 2017, the

announced that Pruitt had made the 2017 Opening Day roster as a reliever. He made his major league debut on April 2, 2017. He loaded the bases and was charged with an unearned run without recording an out. Pruitt allowed ten earned runs in his first six innings of big league work. On 9 May, Pruitt was optioned to Durham after surrendering three runs the previous night. He was recalled on 31 May to replace

Chih-Wei Hu Chih-Wei Hu (; born November 4, 1993) is a Taiwanese professional baseball pitcher for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays. Career Minneso ...

. On July 28, Pruitt entered the Rays' rotation following an injury to starter Jake Odorizzi. In just his third career start, Pruitt hurled scoreless innings against his hometown team — the

. Pruitt ended the season with Tampa Bay with an ERA of 5.31 in innings pitched, including eight starts. In 2018, Pruitt spent the majority of the season as the Rays' long reliever, logging innings in 23 games. Pruitt appeared in 14 games for the Rays in 2019, recording a 4.40 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 47 innings.

Houston Astros

On January 9, 2020, the Rays traded Pruitt to the

in exchange for Cal Stevenson and

Peyton Battenfield Peyton Cole Battenfield (born August 10, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Guardians. Amateur career Battenfield attended Ver ...

. Pruitt did not appear in a game for the Astros in 2020 after suffering a hairline fracture in his right elbow. On April 10, 2021, Pruitt was placed on the 60-day injured list as he recovered from right elbow surgery. On July 16, Pruitt was activated off of the injured list. On July 28, Pruitt was designated for assignment by the Astros.

Miami Marlins

On July 28, 2021, the Astros traded Pruitt along with minor league outfielder

Bryan De La Cruz Bryan Starling De La Cruz (born December 16, 1996) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021. Career Houston Astros De La Cruz signed with the Houston A ...

for relief pitcher

Yimi García Yimi García (; born August 18, 1990) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins and Houston Astros. He signed wit ...

. On August 5, the Marlins designated Pruitt for assignment. On August 7, Pruitt cleared waivers and was assigned outright to the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. On August 20, Pruitt's contract was selected by the Marlins. In 4 appearances for the Marlins, Pruitt posted a 1.93 ERA with 4 strikeouts. On September 2, Pruitt was designated for assignment by the Marlins, and was again outrighted to Jacksonville on September 5. On October 5, Pruitt elected free agency.

Oakland Athletics

On March 13, 2022, Pruitt signed a minor league contract with the

. He had his contract selected to the major league roster on May 28, 2022. He was designated for assignment on August 22, 2022 and was sent outright to Triple-A

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. He re-signed a minor league contract on January 15, 2023.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pruitt, Austin 1989 births Living people People from The Woodlands, Texas Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas Tampa Bay Rays players Houston Astros players Miami Marlins players Oakland Athletics players Navarro Bulldogs baseball players Houston Cougars baseball players Hudson Valley Renegades players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Montgomery Biscuits players Durham Bulls players Fayetteville Woodpeckers players Sugar Land Skeeters players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players