A's Luzardo dazzles over five no-hit innings

Fifteen games into his professional career, Jesus Luzardo makes it easy to picture a bright future.
"The sense I have is [he's] a front-end big league starter-in-the-making," Class A Advanced Stockton pitching coach Bryan Corey said. "I don't know how far away that is, and some may disagree, but ... the ability he has to throw all three pitches in any count, against lefties or righties, the ability to command his pitches in the zone and his pure stuff -- it's pretty special."
Making his third California League start, MLB.com's No. 60 overall prospect tossed five hitless innings on Tuesday, piling up nine strikeouts and walking one in the Ports' 4-0 victory over Modesto at John Thurman Field.

Gameday box score
The gem came six days after Luzardo (2-1) notched a career-high 10 strikeouts. Over 14 2/3 innings in three Cal League outings, the A's second-ranked prospect has punched out 25 and walked five while compiling a 1.23 ERA.
"There's a fire in him on the mound. He competes," Corey said. "As good as he is on the field, he's that much better off -- his makeup is off the charts. Really, it is. He's just a good kid, and he's still learning. He's young and he's very coachable, very athletic."
Facing Mike Zunino to start the game, Luzardo fanned the rehabbing Mariners catcher in an eight-pitch battle. When they met again in the third, the 20-year-old left-hander got Zunino to fly to left field on the first offering.
"Of course, I don't know where [Zunino is] in his rehab, if there's anything lingering or he's rusty and getting his timing down, but Jesus to me is a big leaguer with big league stuff," said Corey, who pitched in the Majors for five years. "I thought it was a good matchup. He battled. He stays with it and never gives in, always makes his pitches. He did the same exact thing [against Zunino]."

Second-ranked Seattle prospectEvan White worked a six-pitch walk in the opening frame and Donnie Walton reached when Luzardo was charged with an error while trying to cover first base to start the fourth. The 2016 third-rounder struck out the next three batters to strand Walton at first, and no other Nut reached base during his tenure.
"That play happened, and I think he got the base with the side of his foot," Corey said. "I know he was frustrated, and to punch out the side, to step it up and be able to do that, there is that fire. You could see it -- there's a switch. He flips it -- it's like, 'Oh, OK,' and he comes off laughing."

The Florida native came to the Oakland from the Nationals in last year's Sean Doolittle trade and went 2-1 with a 1.66 ERA in 12 games, including 11 starts, in two Rookie-level circuits and with Class A Short Season Vermont, where Corey was the pitching coach. As they continue to work together in the Cal League, they have their sights set on things like in-game adjustments and pitch sequencing that will help Luzardo down the road.
"It's about trying to learn to pitch at a higher level while he's at this level -- it's not just getting hitters out and having success at this level, although it is that, too -- but to work on those things so as he continues to progress, it all falls right in line," the pitching coach said. "[Already], his ability to throw changeups to lefties and righties in hitters' counts, you don't see that very much, especially left-on-left."
Angel Duno carried the Ports' no-hitter into the seventh before Logan Taylor lined a one-out single to right. It was the lone hit allowed by the right-hander, who fanned four in two innings. Miguel Romero recorded his fourth save, scattering three hits over the final two frames.
A's No. 15 prospect Kevin Merrell went 2-for-5 with a run scored. His first-inning single gave him hits in six straight at-bats, and he poked another single through the right side in the seventh for a .340 batting average in 12 Cal League games.