Introduction
Austin Daniel Pruitt (born August 31, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Career
Pruitt attended The Woodlands College Park High School in The Woodlands, Texas and played college baseball at Navarro College and the University of Houston. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft. The Rays added him to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. Pruitt made the Rays' Opening Day roster in 2017. He made his major league debut on April 2, 2017.
2017 Season
On March 30, the Tampa Bay Rays announced that Pruitt had made the Opening Day roster as a reliever.Three days later, Pruitt made his Major League debut on Opening Day. He loaded the bases and was charged with an unearned run without recording an out. Pruitt's struggles would continue; he allowed 10 earned runs in his first 6 innings of big league work.
On May 9, Pruitt was optioned to the Durham Bulls after surrendering three runs the previous night. He would be recalled on May 31st to replace Chih-Wei Hu.
On July 28, Pruitt entered the Rays rotation following an injury to starter Jake Odorizzi. In just his third career start, Pruitt hurled 6 1/3 scoreless innings against his hometown team — the Houston Astros.