Just a little over a month ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks called up left-handed reliever Andrew Saalfrank to bolster their bullpen depth.
Within a couple of weeks, Saalfrank found himself on the mound in the MLB postseason, facing off against some of the league’s most dangerous offenses.
And he has been complete nails.
The Diamondbacks selected Saalfrank in the 6th round of the 2019 draft. Over the past few years, he steadily climbed the ranks, eventually reaching triple-A in June of this year.
His long-awaited call-up to the majors came on September 5th.
During the regular season, Saalfrank started his career with 10.1 innings without allowing an earned run.
This performance has so far carried into the postseason.
With a chance to help send his team to the NLDS, Saalfrank made his postseason debut in the bottom of the 8th in a 5-2 ballgame.
Entering the game with the bases loaded and just one out, the 26-year-old reliever managed to secure two quick groundouts, preventing any runners from crossing the plate.
Then, this time with a chance to help send his team to the NLCS, Saalfrank entered a 4-2 ballgame with runners on 1st and 2nd.
In an inning where the Dodgers had already scored two runs and appeared to have found their offensive stride, it took just one pitch from Saalfrank to extricate his team from another jam.
When you combine his regular season and postseason performances, Saalfrank has maintained a flawless stat line, having not allowed a single earned run through 11.2 innings of play.
It is challenging to envision a more impressive start to one’s major league career.
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