A.J. Puk Stats
- Height / Weight
- 6' 7" / 248 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 4/25/1995 (28)
- Experience
- 4
- College
- Florida
A.J. Puk Season Stats
Last 10 Games
A.J. Puk News
Miami Marlins pitcher A.J. Puk has been nearly unhittable early in camp. The left-hander is attempting to move into the starting rotation full-time. So far, the southpaw has lived up to the hype with another solid outing on Saturday. Puk piled up six strikeouts over 3 1/3 scoreless innings versus the Washington Nationals on Saturday. Puk has now fired 8 1/3 scoreless innings with a 15/4 K/BB ratio and a 1.20 WHIP this spring. The 28-year-old will continue climbing up draft boards if he keeps pitching like this going forward.
With Miami Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett (shoulder) now likely to open the year on the injured list due to a shoulder issue, it would appear that left-hander A.J. Puk is now the heavy favorite to open the regular season as the team's No. 3 starter. The 28-year-old southpaw has been transitioning from a relief role to a starting role this spring and has had great results, tossing five scoreless Grapefruit League innings while striking out nine and walking three. Puk's fantasy value will probably be limited because of the fact that he hasn't started a game since 2021 or pitched in a starting role full time since 2017, but he'll be intriguing to begin the year nonetheless. He had a career-high 15 saves in 2023 but also lost the closing role midway through the season due to poor performance. Puk's strikeout upside alone makes him interesting in either a starting or relief role for Miami.
Miami Marlins pitcher A.J. Puk is being stretched out as a starter as spring training gets underway. The lanky reliever has only worked out of the bullpen in the majors but was primarily a starter back in his college days at the University of Florida. He's yet to make a single start through his first 142 major league outings, according to beat writer Christina De Nicola. However, the Marlins currently have an open rotation spot and with Puk's past experience as a starter, this makes sense. In addition to Puk, Miami is also stretching out Ryan Weathers, George Soriano, and Max Meyer. Injuries have plagued Puk in the early part of his career but he's maintained relative health over the last few seasons, compiling a 3.50 ERA, 1.163 WHIP, and 154:36 K/BB ratio to go along with 19 saves over 123 innings of relief between Oakland and Miami. He's an interesting name to keep an eye on considering his past prospect pedigree. There's no guarantee he opens the year in the starting rotation but he should hold fantasy value whether he starts or comes out of the pen for the Fish.
Batting Order
1 | Luis Arraez |
2 | Josh Bell |
3 | Bryan De La Cruz |
4 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. |
5 | Jake Burger |
6 | Jesús Sánchez |
7 | Tim Anderson |
8 | Nick Gordon |
9 | Nick Fortes |
A.J. Puk Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
1 | Luis Arraez |
2 | Josh Bell |
3 | Bryan De La Cruz |
4 | Jazz Chisholm Jr. |
5 | Jake Burger |
6 | Jesús Sánchez |
7 | Tim Anderson |
8 | Nick Gordon |
9 | Nick Fortes |
At this point, the fascination of Oakland Athletics relief pitcherA.J. Puk in fantasy is far greater than the reality. The Athletics No. 1 prospect recovered from 2018 Tommy John surgery to throw 25 1/3 innings in the minor leagues in 2019 before reaching the majors, where he threw 11.0 innings in 10 relief appearances. Puk did well in his short MLB stint with a 3.18 ERA, 4.35 xFIP and 3.95 SIERA to go with his 13 strikeouts. Puk was unable to pitch in 2020 as he battled through shoulder issues before succumbing to surgery in September. With Mike Fiers expected to open the season on the IL, the club is looking at Puk to fill the hole in the rotation although his velocity was down from 97 mph to 92-93 mph in his first spring start. You need to go back to 2017 for the last time Puk pitched more than two innings in a game. There's no doubting his pedigree with 262 strikeouts in 183 frames in his minor league career along with a 3.98 ERA. Puk has a career 4.35 ERA atDouble-A (72 1/3 innings) and a 4.91 ERA at Triple-A (11 innings), so despite being lined up for a spot in the A's rotation, he could probably use some more development in the minors. Puk currently has an ADP of 343, so he's only being taken as a late-round flier. If he's healthy, Puk could be a star in 2021, but right now, that's a huge if.