Former South Dakota State University pitcher Blake Treinen has been called up to the major leagues by the Washington Nationals. He is the second former Jackrabbit to make it to the top level of professional baseball in as many seasons, joining fellow pitcher Caleb Thielbar of the Minnesota Twins.
The Nationals made the move to add Treinen to the roster late Friday night and the right-hander pitched two scoreless innings of relief in Saturday’s game at Atlanta.
A native of Osage City, Kan., Treinen pitched for the Jackabbits during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, compiling a 14-4 career record with 166 strikeouts in 159.1 innings. He was originally drafted in the 23rd round by Florida following the 2010 season, but opted to return to SDSU for his senior season. After earning first-team all-Summit League honors in 2011, Treinen was selected in the seventh round ‹ 226th overall ‹ by the Oakland Athletics.
Treinen was traded to the Washington Nationals organization prior to the
2013 season and pitched at Class AA Harrisburg (Pa.), where he posted a
6-7 record with a 3.64 earned run average in 21 appearances, including 20 starts. He was one of the last cuts by the Nationals in Spring Training this season and was assigned to Class AAA Syracuse (N.Y.), where he did not allow an earned run in a five-inning start at Pawtucket (R.I.) on April 7. Treinen is expected to pitch out of the bullpen for the Nationals.
