Jun. 26—Max Kranick is heading to the big leagues.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are expected to call up the Valley View grad Sunday for their game against the Cardinals in St. Louis. The team has yet to make the move official and has yet to announce a starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale. First pitch is set for 2:15 EDT.
Kranick, 23, started the season at Double-A Altoona, but was bumped up to Triple-A Indianapolis after just three starts. In four starts with the Indians, he was 1-2 with a 4.66 ERA, including a scoreless five-inning, one-hit gem against Nashville on June 12.
Overall, he has 36 strikeouts against just nine walks in 35 innings this year.
Pittsburgh is playing 20 games in 20 days without a day off heading into the All-Star Break and continues on to Colorado after wrapping up its series against St. Louis. Calling up Kranick would allow them to give their starting pitchers an extra day of rest.
The Pirates selected Kranick in the 11th round of the 2016 MLB Draft and signed him away from his commitment to the University of Virginia. He has a career 3.47 ERA across 58 minor league games and was invited to Pittsburgh’s alternate site last season.
Kranick was the 2016 Times-Tribune All-Region Player of the Year when he went 5-0 with a 0.31 ERA as a senior for Valley View. He had a career 16-3 record in high school with a 1.17 ERA and a 0.969 WHIP in 138 1/3 innings, racking up 201 strikeouts against just 37 walks.
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