Sunday, September 04, 2011

Cleveland, Ohio - Stetson pitching great Corey Kluber made his MLB debut for the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, just hours after being called up from Class AAA Columbus. Kluber, the 2007 Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher of the Year, threw 1.1 shutout innings for the Indians in a loss to the Oakland A's at Progressive Field.

Kluber is the ninth Hatter in program history to reach the major leagues and the fifth pitcher overall. The last Stetson pitcher to take the mound in the major leagues was Lenny DiNardo on October 2, 2009 for the Kansas City Royals.

A fourth-round pick in the 2007 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres, Kluber was traded to the Cleveland organization last summer. He recorded 32 victories and 644 strikeouts over five minor league seasons. He was a Collegiate Baseball News Second Team All-American as a junior in 2007 after going 12-2 with a 3.05 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 114.0 innings, leading the Hatters to an A-Sun regular season title and NCAA regional appearance.