University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Trio of Bruin Pitchers to Start for MLB Clubs on Tuesday
April 30, 2019 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES โ Former UCLA aces Trevor Bauer (2009-11), Griffin Canning (2015-17), and Gerrit Cole (2009-11) are all scheduled to toe the rubber for their respective teams on Tuesday, representing the first time in history that UCLA has had three Major League starting pitchers on the same day.
Canning is set to make his Major League debut on Tuesday night for the Los Angeles Angels, as he will face off against the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Stadium starting at 7:07 p.m. PT. The No. 2 prospect in the Angels' system according to MLB Pipeline, Canning will become the third player from the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft class to reach the big leagues.
Meanwhile, Bauer will face Miami at Marlins Park starting at 4:10 p.m. PT while Cole is scheduled to do battle against the Twins in Minneapolis starting at 4:40 p.m. PT.
The Bruins have a strong MLB tradition, as 80 UCLA alums have now played in the big leagues, including 19 players coached by current head coach John Savage. In addition, at least one player from every UCLA team from 1965-2017 has competed in the MLB, a span of 52 consecutive years.
UCLA has had two starting pitchers on the same day several times in the past, most recently on Apr. 25 as Bauer and Cole faced off in a 2018 American League Division Seriesย rematch.ย
Canning was a second-round pick by Los Angeles in the 2017 draft. He had a career 2.99 ERA at UCLA with 301 strikeouts, sixth-most in program history. His junior season yielded All-America and Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist honors after he went 7-4 with a 2.34 ERA. The Orange County native had been dominating Triple-A competition before his call-up last Friday, posting a 0.56 ERA in three startsย for the Salt Lake Bees despite pitching in hitting-friendly conditions.
Coming off the best season of his professional career, Bauer has picked up right where he left off in 2019, crafting a 1.99 ERA over six starts for Cleveland while striking out over a batter per inning. He had a Cy Young-caliber season in 2018, going 12-6 with a 2.21 ERA and a league-best 2.44 FIP. Bauer went 34-8 with a 2.36 ERA and 460 strikeouts in 373 1/3 innings during his Bruin career, which he capped by becoming the school's first-ever Golden Spikes Award winner in 2011. He was drafted third overall by Arizona that summer.
Cole, the first overall pick in the 2011 draft, is in his eighth big league season and second with the Houston Astros. He was an All-Star in 2018 and finished in the top-five in Cy Young voting after going 15-5 with a 2.88 ERA and 276 strikeouts in 200 1/3 innings. He has a career 3.42 ERA in the MLB. Cole was a three-time All-Pac-10 pick during his time in Westwood, becoming the first pitcher in school history to log at least 100 strikeouts in three separate seasons.
