FORMER CRUSHER KOENIG TO MAKE MLB DEBUTE
( June 8, 2022 AVON, Ohio — ) Former Lake Erie Crushers pitcher Jared Koenig is scheduled to make his Major League Baseball debut with the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night against the Atlanta Braves.
Koenig, who pitched with the Crushers in 2019, has risen quickly through the A's system, and has pitched very well at the Triple-A level this season with the Las Vegas Aviators. Prior to his call up, Koenig was 4-2 with a 2.21 ERA over 9 games in Las Vegas. Over 53 innings this season, he's fanned 61 batters.
The 6-foot-5 235-pound lefty was signed by the A's after he turned in a terrific 2019 season with the Crushers. That season, he played a pivotal role in ending Lake Erie's five-year playoff drought. Koenig was an instrumental part of a deep starting rotation that year, going 7-2 over 20 games with a 2.24 ERA and led the Frontier League in strikeouts with 133 over 104.1 innings of work.
"It's funny to think this guy was on our bus back in 2019 and now he's on TV," said Lake Erie Crushers manager Cam Roth. "I tell guys all the time you don't wake up when you're 8 years old and say I want to win a Frontier League championship, you say I want to play in the big leagues and after tonight, Jared can always say he was in the show."
Koenig will take the mound for the A's on Wednesday night as they travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves. In making his MLB debut this evening, he will become the third former Lake Erie Crusher to do so, following Chris Smith who made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2017 and Mickey Jannis who pitched for the Baltimore Orioles in 2021.
While Koenig and the A's take on the defending World Series Champions tonight, the Lake Erie Crushers will continue their three game series with the New Jersey Jackals at Mercy Health Stadium at 7:05 PM.
For more information on the Crushers, including how to get tickets, call 440-934-3636 or email the team at info@lakeeriecrushers.com.
The Lake Erie Crushers play in Mercy Health Stadium which is located in Avon, Ohio, and play in the Frontier League which is currently the largest and longest tenured MLB Partner League.
