A's prospect Jesus Luzardo makes impression in spring

TEMPE, Arizona - A’s pitching prospect Jesus Luzardo has been praised by manager Bob Melvin for the poise he’s shown this spring, but the young left-hander could no longer contain himself.

Luzardo tried to play it cool as he walked off the mound after striking out Mike Trout in the third inning of Friday’s 4-2 victory, but as soon as he got back to the clubhouse and was asked about what he had done against the Angels superstar, Luzardo’s face lit up with a huge smile.

“Honestly, that pitch I struck him out on was a curveball I kind of left up, so that was kind of surprising to me,” Luzardo said. “I cant complain. Striking out a guy like that, you can’t help but smile. It ended on a good note.”

As soon as he got back to his locker, Luzardo’s phone had already blown up with text messages from his friends talking about the at-bat with Trout.

“A couple of my friends videotaped it,” Luzardo said. “It was funny.”

Manager Bob Melvin joked after the 4-2 victory that the A’s would be taking Luzardo with them on their return flight to Oakland.

Luzardo, 20, had already impressed in two previous outings this spring as a call-up from minor league camp, but watching what the youngster did against an Angels lineup that featured most of its regulars really caught Melvin’s eye. Luzardo allowed no runs on three hits with a walk and three strikeouts in 2? innings.

“This lineup is gonna get your attention. I don’t care who you are,” Melvin said. “He was throwing breaking balls in off counts and up to 97 from what I saw on the radar gun. This is gonna be a very quick mover. Very impressive to go out there and start against this team and look the way he did.”

Melvin said removing Luzardo after the strikeout of Trout was not planned; Luzardo had just reached his pitch count for the day. But he was glad it worked out that way.

“That’s a nice little feather in his cap,” Melvin said.

Acquired from the Nationals in a trade for Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson last year, Luzardo had an astonishing ?48-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in ?43? innings in the minors.

Now rated as the No. 2 prospect in the organization, Luzardo will embark on his first full season in the A’s organization with the experience of having had success against big-league hitters this spring. He did not allow a run in six innings with the big-league club.

“It’s definitely just a confidence booster,” Luzardo said. “I’ll take that into the season. It helps me think that I don’t need to do anything more than what I already am. Just keep doing my own thing.”