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It seems like it was just a year ago that Trevor Bauer was pitching for UCLA. Oh wait, it was only a year ago. On June 4, 2011 Bauer took the mound at Jacke Robinson Stadium and threw a complete game, allowing just one run on six hits and striking out 14 to lead the Bruins to a win in the Regionals. It was the last start in an incredible UCLA career for Bauer that saw him win the Golden Spikes Award as the nation's top amateur baseball player and set school records in wins, strikeouts and innings.
Last June, Bauer was selected third overall in the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks with the expectation that he would be on the fast track to the majors. That fast track was pretty damn fast because tonight at 4 pm PT, Bauer will make his MLB debut for the Diamondbacks against the Braves at Turner Field. You can catch the game on FS Arizona, SportsSouth, MLB Extra Innings or MLB.TV (hopefully you have one of those).
In his short minor league career, Bauer has done more than impress. After a short season last year, Bauer started this season at AA before getting the jump to AAA. Between the two, he combined to go 11-1 with a 2.23 ERA, a .220 batting average against and a minor league best 116 strikeouts in 2012. He forced that fast track to go even faster and the Diamondbacks even came up with a fishy Joe Saunders injury to make room for him in the MLB rotation.
Now Bauer gets to show off what Bruins watched for three years. It should be a treat so tune in and share your thoughts here as Bauer becomes a big leaguer. Hopefully we're watching him there for a very long time. Go Bauer, go Diamondbacks and go Bruins.