Oakland Athletics: Ushering in the Jesús Luzardo Era, pitch by pitch

One of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball, Oakland Athletics lefty Jesús Luzardo, took the mound for the first time in his big league career. But how would he fare against one of baseball’s best lineups?

After much anticipation, Oakland Athletics number one prospect Jesús Luzardo took the mound in the sixth inning of a 5-2 game against the American League West-leading Houston Astros.

Fans have been hyping up Luzardo’s inevitable callup to the big leagues since he impressed during Spring Training. While a poorly timed shoulder injury served as a copout for the A’s to pass on starting to season with him, Luzardo was spectacular in the minors.

The 21-year-old dazzled at AAA, easing toward a 3.19 ERA with 34 strikeouts and only eight walks in 31 innings.

Manager Bob Melvin was understandably interested in utilizing the young lefty in a role out of the bullpen to stifle some of the woes that the rest of the relievers have had.

Upon the news of Luzardo’s callup, Melvin acknowledged that it would only be a matter of time before Jesús Luzardo would be given an opportunity.

That opportunity came Wednesday night.

Even though there has been plenty of press covering Luzardo’s path to the big leagues, he carries a mystique thanks to limited appearances. He still hasn’t logged 200 innings at the professional level. He’s mostly been hidden in the minors where data is limited.

But there’s plenty to be excited about in the three innings we got to see out of him against one of baseball’s best teams — and one of the most potent offenses.

In an attempt to demystify one of the characters who will assuredly be at the front end of next year’s hotly-anticipated rotation, we break down Luzardo’s debut, pitch-by-pitch.