A new UCLA Bruin alum has cracked the big leagues, with former Bruin right-handed pitcher Max Rajcic making his MLB debut for the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday. Rajcic spent three years with UCLA from 2020-2022.
Rajcic stayed home to play for the Bruins, growing up in Orange, California and playing high school at Orange Lutheran High School. After his time in Westwood, the Cardinals selected Rajcic in the sixth round of the 2022 MLB Draft. Four years later, Rajcic has made his way through the minor leagues and onto St. Louis’s big league roster.
It wasn’t a game to remember for the Cardinals aside from Rajcic. St. Louis lost 14-6 on the road to the Kansas City Royals, with Rajcic pitching two innings out of the bullpen. Rajcic gave up one run and two hits and collected his first MLB strikeout.
Rajcic fanned Tyler Tolbert to pick up his first strikeout but in the sixth inning, veteran catcher Salvador Perez hammered a home run, the first MLB bomb surrendered by Rajcic.
The call to the majors isn’t too much of a surprise for the former Bruin, Rajcic posted a 2.88 earned run average in Triple-A and was averaging more than a strikeout per inning with the Memphis Redbirds.
Rajcic was impressive during his time at UCLA. The 6’0” pitcher was strictly a reliever for the Bruins, posting a 2.83 ERA over two seasons with the Bruins with 128 strikeouts in 117.2 innings pitched. Rajcic becomes the 10th former UCLA player to appear in an MLB game this season.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Former UCLA Bruin reliever makes his MLB debut with the Cardinals
Reporting by Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dylan McNeill, UCLA Wire | USA TODAY Network
