Former Cal Poly pitcher makes Major League debut with the Dodgers
A former Cal Poly pitcher has become the 20th alum to play Major League Baseball following his debut Sunday with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Former Mustangs pitcher Justin Bruihl pitched a scoreless 1-2/3 innings in relief Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels, striking out two in the 8-2 win.
Bruihl, now 24, pitched at Cal Poly during the 2016 season with a team-high 25 appearances on the mound as a freshman, including one start. He had a 1-3 record with a 4.88 earned run average, while striking out 27 batters over 31-1/3 innings, according to a Cal Poly news release.
Following his lone season with the Mustangs, Bruihl transferred to Santa Rosa Junior College, where he posted a 7-0 record and 2.12 ERA with 59 strikeouts over 51 innings.
Bruihl committed to play baseball at Cal after his sophomore year but instead signed with the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent in June 2017.
Bruihl, a southpaw, underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014, while in high school in Petaluma, rehabilitating for more than a year after.
In three minor league seasons, he went 14-2 with a 3.73 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 72 games, according to Cal Poly.
“For the most part I think the big reason for my success (in the minor leagues) was my ability to throw strikes with all my pitches and competing in the zone rather than trying to be too perfect like I was the year before,” Bruihl said in an interview posted on the ladodgertalk.com website on his standout 2019 season. “I started trusting my stuff and throwing the ball over the middle of the plate and letting the movement do the work and force weak contact.”
In his MLB debut, Bruihl entered the game with one out and two on base in the eighth inning, striking out Brandon Marsh, walking pinch-hitter Shohei Ohtani to load the bases, and then inducing Jack Mayfield to hit a comebacker for the third out.
Bruihl recorded two groundouts and a strikeout in a 1-2-3 ninth.
Bruihl’s fastball ranges from 90-93 mph, his cutter 85-88, his slider 78-81 and his changeup 80-82.
Of the 20 Major Leaguers who were former Mustangs, current head coach Larry Lee has coached 11 of them over 19 seasons, including Bruihl.
Current Mustangs in the majors are Seattle Mariners’ outfielder Mitch Haniger, Texas Rangers’ pitcher Spencer Howard, and Mark Mathias, a utility infielders on the Milwaukee Brewers’ injured list.
Here’s the list of former Mustangs who reached the Major Leagues:
Player (Years at Cal Poly) Years in Majors
Thornton Lee (1925-26) 1933-48
Mike Krukow (1971-73) 1976-89
Dave Oliver (1970-73) 1977
Ozzie Smith (1974-77) 1978-96
Gorman Heimueller (1974-77) 1983-84
Craig Gerber (1978-81) 1985
John Orton (1985-87) 1989-93
Lee Hancock (1986-88) 1995-96
Kevin Correia (2000-02) 2003-15
Garrett Olson (2003-05) 2007-12
Casey Fien (2005-06) 2009-17
Bud Norris (2004-06) 2009-18
Brent Morel (2006-08) 2010-15
Logan Schafer (2007-08) 2011-16
Evan Reed (2005-07) 2013-14
Mike Miller (2010-12) 2016
Mitch Haniger (2010-12) 2016-present
Spencer Howard (2014-15) 2020-present
Mark Mathias (2013-15) 2020-present
Justin Bruihl (2016) 2021-present
This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 3:26 PM.
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