UCLA's Adam Plutko Promoted to Cleveland Indians
September 20, 2016 | Baseball
Former UCLA right-hander Adam Plutko has earned his first-ever major league promotion and has joined the Cleveland Indians, the organization announced Tuesday afternoon.
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Plutko starred in the Bruins' pitching rotation each of his three years in Westwood (2011-13), helping lead UCLA to its first-ever College World Series title in 2013 after the Bruins secured back-to-back conference championships in 2011 and 2012. He was named MVP of the 2013 College World Series after going 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two CWS starts โ wins against LSU and Mississippi State.
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An 11th-round draft selection of the Cleveland Indians in 2013, Plutko went 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA in 28 starts for the double-A Akron RubberDucks and the triple-A Columbus Clippers this season. The 6-foot-3 right-hander went 6-5 with a 4.10 ERA in 15 starts with Columbus, totaling 67 strikeouts and 34 walks in 90.0 innings. He spent the 2015 season in advanced single-A (Lynchburg Hillcats) and double-A (Akron RubberDucks).
ย.@Papaplut23 split this season between AA + AAA โ Finishing 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA + 130 Ks.
โ Cleveland Indians (@Indians) September 20, 2016
He'll wear number 62.
Welcome to the show, kid! pic.twitter.com/NZWkOI1YvM
Now with the Cleveland Indians, who lead the American League's Central Division by seven games with 12 contests remaining, Plutko is reunited with former UCLA teammate and starting pitcher Trevor Bauer. Plutko and Bauer pitched in the Bruins' weekend rotation in 2011 โ Bauer was a junior and Plutko was a freshman that season.
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In three seasons at UCLA, Plutko went 29-10 with a 2.25 ERA in 53 games (52 starts). He threw four complete games, including three shutouts, while leading UCLA to postseason play all three years with College World Series appearances in 2012 and 2013.
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Plutko currently ranks among the top 10 in several categories in UCLA's career record book. The former standout at Glendora High School (Glendora, Calif.) is third in career wins (29), innings pitched (351.1) and games started (52). In addition, he ranks eighth in strikeouts (272) and ninth in career earned-run average (2.25).
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With his major league promotion on Tuesday, Plutko joins eight other former UCLA ballplayers currently in the big leagues, including four of his former teammates from UCLA's 2011 squad that won the Pac-10 title โ Bauer, Trevor Brown, Gerrit Cole and Pat Valaika. Also representing UCLA in the majors right now are Chase Utley, Brandon Crawford, Erik Goeddel and Matt Grace.
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Plutko will have the opportunity to become the 79th player out of UCLA to compete in Major League Baseball. UCLA's program has had at least one player from every season from 1965-2013 to have competed in the majors.
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Plutko can become the 16th former UCLA player under head coach John Savage to play in the major leagues. In addition, he has become the seventh Bruin in the last four years to advance to the big leagues. He joins infielder Pat Valaika as the only UCLA player to be a part of a national championship team and advanced to the majors.