Former IU baseball pitcher Andrew Saalfrank made his long-awaited return to the big leagues this weekend.
The Arizona Diamondbacks reliever threw two shutout relief innings on Saturday. He struck out two and gave up two hits.
He was one of four players who served one-year suspensions through June 5 for betting on baseball. Saalfrank had not appeared in a game since April of 2024.
The players violated Major League Rule 21, which is posted in every clubhouse. They were handed mandatory one-year suspensions for betting on games in which they did not participate.
Saalfrank was recalled Wednesday from Triple-A Reno. He appeared in two games with Arizona last year before the suspension.
In 2023, Saalfrank became the latest Hoosier to make his postseason debut in the MLB. That came after earning the call to the big leagues in September. The lefty threw 10.1 scoreless innings in relief during the 2023 regular season, and he had 3.18 ERA in 5.2 postseason innings including three appearances in the World Series.
Saalfrank is from the Fort Wayne, Ind. area and attended Heritage H.S. He pitched for the Hoosiers from 2017 through 2019.
He was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year as a junior in 2019, when he compiled a 2.84 ERA, a 1.288 WHIP, a .246 batting average against, and 98 strikeouts. Across his three-year career in Bloomington, Saalfrank recorded a 3.81 ERA, a 1.181 WHIP, a .257 batting average against, and 188 strikeouts.
With Saalfrank’s appearance, nine former IU baseball players have seen action in the MLB this season.
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