Kuroda-Grauer Called up to Athletics for MLB Debut
Jun 29 | Baseball
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Rutgers baseball alumnus Josh Kuroda-Grauer has been called up to make his MLB debut for the Athletics. Kuroda-Grauer – wearing #44 – will start at second base and bat ninth against the Dodgers tonight, with first pitch in Sacramento set for 9:40 p.m.
The 75th overall pick in the 3rd round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Kuroda-Grauer has quickly ascended through the Athletics minor league system. This season, Kuroda-Grauer is hitting .323 across AA and AAA. He was promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas in May and has hit .352 for the Aviators in 42 games including a home run, 12 doubles, three triples and 49 runs scored.
Kuroda-Grauer is the second Scarlet Knight to be promoted to the big leagues this season, joining Brian Fitzpatrick who made his MLB debut for the Brewers on April 29 earlier this year. Kuroda-Grauer and Fitzpatrick are the first two Rutgers players under head coach Steve Owens to make it to the big leagues. The last time Rutgers had two former players in the major leagues was Brian O'Grady and Patrick Kivlehan in 2021.
Owning a long list of accolades as a Scarlet Knight, Kuroda-Grauer was named 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year, the first time since Rutgers joined the conference in 2015 that a player received a major award from the Big Ten. He was named an All-American by five different outlets, receiving First Team All-America honors from Perfect Game. He was also named All-Big Ten First Team, a Brooks Wallace Award finalist (top shortstop in country), a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist (top amateur player in country) and a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist (national player of the year).
A native of Somerset, New Jersey, Kuroda-Grauer put together one of the finest seasons in Rutgers history in 2024. He started all 53 games at shortstop for the Scarlet Knights, led the country in regular season hits (95) and hits/game (1.79), ranked second with a .428 batting average, stole 24 bases and committed just seven errors all season. Kuroda-Grauer also had 29 multi-hit games, 10 three-hit games and had a streak of five straight games with three-plus hits.
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