The St. Louis Cardinals will have a rookie from Double-A Springfield start Wednesday's game against the Colorado Rockies, as left-hander Marco Gonzales was called up to make his major league debut.
The 22-year-old Gonzales was selected in the first round (19th overall) of the June 2013 first-year player draft by St. Louis, making him the first Cardinal since Michael Wacha in 2013 to graduate to the majors in the year immediately following their draft selection.
Gonzales started 2014 at Palm Beach and made six starts before a promotion to Springfield. At Double-A, he posted a 3-2 record with a 2.33 ERA in seven starts, striking out 46 in his 38 2/3 innings. Between Springfield and Palm Beach he was 5-4 with a 1.89 ERA over 13 starts, spanning 76 1/3 innings with 78 strikeouts.
Gonzales also becomes the first Cardinals pitcher to make his debut as a starter and bypass a Triple-A club since right-handed pitcher Cliff Politte did so on April 2, 1998. The last Cardinals lefty to make his starting debut straight from Double-A was Donovan Osborne on April 9, 1992, vs. the New York Mets.
A former star at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado, Gonzales is expected to have a number of friend and family in attendance Wednesday at Coors Field.
To make room for Gonzales on the 40-man roster, the team transferred right- handed pitcher Joe Kelly (left hamstring strain) to the 60-day disabled list and designated shortstop Pete Kozma for assignment.
[SportsNetwork.com]
