OAKLAND – Former UCLA standout right-hander James Kaprielian (2013-15) has been recalled by the Oakland Athletics, the club announced on Tuesday afternoon.
It marks the first promotion to the Major Leagues in Kaprielian's career. A first round pick (No. 16 overall) by the New York Yankees in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Kaprielian is poised to make his MLB debut after being named to the A's 60-man player pool before the 2020 season.
The Tustin, Calif. native is in his fourth professional season, as injuries have limited the right-hander to just 97 1/3 innings in the minor leagues since 2015.
His 2019 campaign – his first in the Oakland organization after being included in the Sonny Gray trade with the Yankees at the 2017 trade deadline – was a success as he went 4-3 with a 3.18 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 68 innings across three levels. That figure included a 1.63 ERA in 27 2/3 innings with the Double-A Midland RockHounds. In his professional career, he has a 6-5 record, 2.96 ERA, and 111 strikeouts in 97 1/3 innings.
A three-year star on the mound with the Bruins, Kaprielian's 2.06 career ERA still ranks sixth all-time in program history. He had a superlative debut season out of the bullpen, putting together a 1.55 ERA and .141 batting average against en route to Freshman All-America honors.
He made the move to the weekend rotation in his final two seasons, proving himself one of the elite arms in college baseball. Kaprielian led the Pac-12 in strikeouts in both 2014 and 2015, and was named first team all-conference in both of those campaigns. His All-American junior season (10-4, 2.03 ERA, 114 strikeouts, 106 2/3 innings) helped the Bruins earn the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Upon his debut, Kaprielian will become the 84th Bruin all-time to reach the Major Leagues and the 21st coached by current UCLA 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.
Stay up-to-date on all things UCLA Baseball by following the team on Twitter at @UCLABaseball.
John Savage-Coached Bruins to Reach Majors (debut team)
Hector Ambriz (Cleveland Indians)
Trevor Bauer (Arizona Diamonbacks)
Charles Brewer (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Trevor Brown (San Francisco Giants)
Tyson Brummett (Philadelphia Phillies)
Griffin Canning (Los Angeles Angels)
Gerrit Cole (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Brandon Crawford (San Francisco Giants)
Jermaine Curtis (St. Louis Cardinals)
Cody Decker (San Diego Padres)
Erik Goeddel (New York Mets)
Matt Grace (Washington Nationals)
Tyler Heineman (Miami Marlins)
David Huff (Cleveland Indians)
James Kaprielian (Oakland Athletics)
Kevin Kramer (Pittsburgh Pirate)
Adam Plutko (Cleveland Indians)
Rob Rasmussen (Toronto Blue Jays)
Josh Roenicke (Cincinnati Reds)
Pat Valaika (Colorado Rockies)
Zack Weiss (Cincinnati Reds)