Zach Duke Gets His First Call To The Big Leagues
Published on July 1, 2005 under International League (IL1)
Indianapolis Indians News Release
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pittsburgh Pirates have promoted left-hander Zach Duke to the big leagues and optioned outfielder Nate McLouth back to Indianapolis. Duke will make his Major League debut on Saturday when the Pirates travel to Milwaukee for a 6:05 p.m. CT contest. The 22-year-old will fill the starting spot vacated by southpaw Oliver Perez, who was placed on the disabled list June 28 with a broken toe.
Duke, who is currently the only pitcher in Minor League Baseball to win 12 games with one team, registered a 4-0 mark and 2.65 ERA in five starts during the month of June. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound departs after posting a 6-1 record and 1.97 ERA (13 ER in 59.1 IP) over his last eight starts. He was also named Topps-International League Player of the Month for May after turning in a 4-2 mark and 2.23 ERA in six starts during the season's second month.
Tabbed by Baseball America as the Pirates' top prospect, Duke was recently named to the 2005 International League All-Star Team and invited to play in the XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game. He was honored as Pittsburgh's Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2004 after pitching his way to a 15-6 record and 1.46 ERA in 26 starts between Double-A Altoona (Pa.) and High-A Lynchburg (Va.). The ERA ranked as the best in all of Minor League Baseball.
McLouth, who was also named to the International League All-Star Team, returns to Indianapolis after spending three days in the big leagues. The 23-year-old went 0-for-2 in a pair of pinch-hit at-bats for the Pirates. McLouth has registered a .306 batting average with five home runs and 32 RBI in 74 games for the Indians this season. He also leads Indianapolis in runs scored (45) and stolen bases (23).
To make room for Duke on the 40-man roster, Pittsburgh has unconditionally released Indians right-hander Bobby Bradley. The 24-year-old went 0-1 with a 13.14 ERA in 11 appearances for the Tribe in 2005.
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