Max Rajcic Named Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year

(Audrey Wall/Peoria Chiefs)

By Cody Schindler

November 17, 2023

Peoria, IL- First-year pro and 2023 Chiefs hurler Max Rajcic was named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year Friday, the parent club announced. Rajcic, 22, was a sixth-round pick out of UCLA in the 2022 draft but did not pitch after making 15 starts in his final season

Peoria, IL- First-year pro and 2023 Chiefs hurler Max Rajcic was named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year Friday, the parent club announced.

Rajcic, 22, was a sixth-round pick out of UCLA in the 2022 draft but did not pitch after making 15 starts in his final season with the Bruins.

The right-hander made his professional debut April 7 with Single-A Palm Beach and earned a promotion to High-A Peoria on June 26 after 12 starts. Rajcic departed Palm Beach with a 6-3 record and a 1.89 ERA. At the time of his promotion, his 0.81 WHIP was the lowest in all of Single-A.

Rajcic burst onto the scene in Peoria, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning in his Midwest League debut on June 30. Over his final six regular season starts, Rajcic was 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA. The right-hander parlayed his late-season success into a dominant start in game one of the Midwest League West Division Championship Series. Rajcic scattered just one hit over six innings and whiffed nine batters to earn a win over Cedar Rapids.

All told, Rajcic made 11 starts for the Chiefs and went 3-3 with a 3.08 ERA. In 23 starts between Palm Beach and Peoria, Rajcic was 9-6 with a 2.48 ERA. His 1.01 WHIP was the third lowest in all of Minor League Baseball.

Hailing from Orange, California, Rajcic was twice named the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month, joining Rick Ankiel as the only other pitcher to win the award twice in his first professional season. Rajcic was also named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Year in September.

Rajcic’s honor marks the second consecutive season that the Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Year spent time with Peoria. In 2022, Gordon Graceffo won the award after posting a 0.99 ERA in eight starts with the Chiefs.

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