Full name is Andrew Jacob Puk. Played three seasons at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla....In 54 games as a Gator (37 starts), posted a 3.39 ERA (194.0 IP/73 ER). Played alongside teammates Pete Alonso, Jonathan India and Harrison Bader during his time there...Was roommates with left-handed pitcher Jesús Luzardo while they were both Oakland A’s. The two were ranked the organization’s top two prospects at the time...Went into the 2011 Spring Top Prospect Showcase at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids more highly regarded for his hitting prowess than his pitching skills, with a fastball that sat at 81-83 mph...After a few months of continuing to work on his pitching skills, he was invited to the PG Junior National Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla. and displayed that his fastball velocity increased from 81-83 MPH to 84-86 MPH...Is a 2013 graduate of Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa...Was regarded as one of the nation's top two-way prospects as a first baseman and pitcher...Ranked No. 23 nationally and was the No. 5 left-hander in the Class of 2013 Final Rankings from Perfect Game...Was drafted by the Tigers in the 35th round but did not sign...Participated in the 2012 Perfect Game All-American Classic held at Petco Field. ..His father, Dr. David Puk, was a four-year football letterman (fullback) and Academic All-American at the University of Minnesota from 1982-85, uncle Steven lettered at Minnesota in 1984, uncle, J.J. was an all-Big Ten linebacker at the University of Iowa from 1986-87 and uncle, Kevin, lettered at Stanford from 1989-91, while all four also played football at Washington High School...As a high school sophomore, A.J. was the Warriors’ starting quarterback and guided them into the state playoffs...In summer 2011 following his sophomore year, he made the decision to only pursue baseball... the decision was made after attending the Perfect Game National Games-Class of 2013 Showcase in San Diego...Played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in 2015, where he was ranked as the No. 1 prospect on Team USA by both Baseball America and Perfect Game...Played part in a combined no-hitter in the series opener vs. Cuba, the first no-hitter allowed by Cuba in international play…he was the first reliever following Tanner Houck (Missouri), tossing 4.0 hitless innings with one walk allowed and a runner to reach on an error...Ryan Hendrix (Texas A&M) closed out the game.
2024
Went 0-1 with two saves, a 1.32 ERA (4 ER in 27.1 IP) and 43 strikeouts over 30 games in his first season with the D-backs...Acquired from the Marlins for INF Deyvison De Los Santos and OF Andrew Pintar on July 25...Set career highs in innings (71.1), strikeouts (88), opponent AVG (.195) and WHIP (1.11), while matching his career mark for games (62) [also: 2022]...Ranked among lefty relievers in ERA (1st, 1.72), WHIP (1st, 0.75), hits (1st, 32), runs (T-1st, 14) and walks (T-1st, 11) [min. 50 G]…Recorded 14 appearances of 1.1+ innings, one shy of matching his career-high 15 in 2022...Held opponents to a .145 AVG (17-for-117) off his four-seamer (42.9% usage) with 46 strikeouts and a 31.4% whiff...Limited hitters to a .161 AVG (10- for-62) off his slider (21.6% usage) with 28 strikeouts and a 47.8% whiff...Allowed three of his 13 (23.1%) inherited runners to score in his last 30 games...Held lefties all season to a .176 AVG (15-for85)/.493 OPS with four walks and 32 strikeouts...Limited righties to a .203 AVG (36-for-177)/.651 OPS with 24 walks and 56 strikeouts...Went scoreless in 28 of his first 29 games with Arizona since July 27, going 0-0 with two saves, a 0.33 ERA (1 ER in 27.0 IP), 0.63 WHIP, opponent .129 AVG (12-for-93)/.375 OPS, five walks and 43 strikeouts...Was scoreless in his first 13 home games since his D-backs debut on July 27, with a 0.73 WHIP, opponent .119 AVG (5-for-42)/.410 OPS, four walks and 19 strikeouts...Marked the team-high for consecutive scoreless home games...Was one of four relievers in the Majors in July [min. 10 G] with a 0.00 ERA and led MLB with a 0.33 WHIP...His 20 strikeouts were the second most among NL relievers...Allowed just one base hit over 11 games (12.0 IP) in July...Went 2-0 with a 0.33 WHIP, opponent .027 AVG (1-for-37)/.127 OPS, three walks and 20 strikeouts...Ranked among NL relievers in August in runs (T2nd, 1), games (T-2nd, 14), walks (T-2nd, 1) and ERA (7th, 0.77) [min. 10 G]…Recorded a team-best 15-game road scoreless streak from Aug. 4-Sept. 21, with two saves, a 0.35 WHIP, opponent .085 AVG (4-for-47)/.122 OBP, one walk and 24 strikeouts...Did not allow a homer over his first 29 games with Arizona (27.0 IP, 99 BF)…From June 23-Sept. 27, did not allow a run over 19 home games (six with Marlins, 13 with D-backs), going 2-0 with a 0.52 WHIP, opponent .087 AVG (6-for-69)/.294 OPS, five walks and 32 strikeouts...In September, went scoreless in 12 of 13 appearances, going 0-1 with one save, a 2.13 ERA (3 ER in 12.2 IP), 0.79 WHIP, opponent .156 AVG (7-for45)/.564 OPS, three walks and 21 strikeouts...For September, ranked among NL relievers in strikeouts (3rd), K/9.0 IP (5th, 14.92), games (T5th) and WHIP (11th)...His 0.33 ERA over his first 29 games as a D-back (July 27-Sept. 27, 2024) marked the best by a reliever in franchise history, while his one run allowed was the fewest by a D-back reliever in the span.
2023
Went 7-5 with a 3.97 ERA (25 ER/56.2 IP) in 58 relief appearances during his first season in the Marlins organization...Struck out a career-high 78 batters (previous high: 76 in 2022)...His 12.39 SO/9 in 2023 was the second-best mark on the Marlins behind David Robertson (12.66). Was also the second-best mark by a left-handed reliever in club history (min. 50.0 IP) behind only Tanner Scott’s 12.9 SO/9 ratio in 2022...In his Postseason debut on Oct. 3 at Philadelphia (NLWCS G1), allowed one hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning...Had a 4-3 record at LoanDepot park with a 5.29 ERA (19 ER/32.1 IP) and .284 opponents AVG (38x134) in 34 appearances, and a 3-2 record with a 2.22 ERA (6 ER/24.1 IP) and .178 opponents AVG (16x90) in 24 away games...Left-handed batters hit .197 (14x71) vs. Puk in 2023 with three home runs and a .578 OPS, while right-handed batters hit .261 (40x153) with seven home runs and a .765 OPS...Was one of four left-handed relievers on the Marlins with 70+ strikeouts (others; Andrew Nardi, Steven Okert, Tanner Scott). Marked the first time in franchise history that two-or-more left-handed relievers finished with 70-plus strikeouts in a season...Recorded 15 saves in 24 opportunities. Had four saves in 2022...Had at least one strikeout in 47 of his 58 outings. Had two-plus strikeouts in 23 of those...Matched his career high in strikeouts with four on Aug. 13 vs. NYY in 1.1 innings, striking out each of the four batters he faced...Prior to the All-Star Break, went 4-3 with a 4.03 ERA (13 ER/29.0 IP) while holding batters to a .248 AVG (29x117). Went 3-2 with a 3.90 ERA (12 ER/27.2 IP), and .234 AVG (25x107) during the second half of the season...Missed 21 games on IL with left elbow nerve irritation from May 14-June 6. In three rehab appearances for Double-A Pensacola had a 3.38 ERA (1 ER/2.2 IP) with three hits (one home run), one walk, and four strikeouts...Did not allow an earned run in April in 11.0 innings, allowing just seven hits and two walks with 11 strikeouts...Made his Marlins debut on March 31 vs. NYM. Entered in the ninth inning and allowed one run on one hit (one home run) with two strikeouts over one inning Made his second career Opening Day roster.
2022
Went 4-3 with a 3.12 ERA (66.1 IP/23 ER) over 62 relief appearances in his first full season with Oakland in 2022...Led the Athletics bullpen with 76 strikeouts...Posted a career-best 1.15 WHIP, 3.30 K/BB and 3.12 BB/9 marks...Held opponents to a .217 batting avg. (only 19 extra-base hits), including hold lefties to a .153 avg. (three extra-base hits)…46 of his 62 appearances were scoreless...Tossed 15.0 scoreless innings from April 14 to May 23, posting a 0.93 WHIP in 12 appearances. Had a second 12-outing scoreless stretch from July 5 to Aug. 4, spanning 11.2 innings. Held hitters to a .108 avg. with four hits and 11 strikeouts...Went 2-1 with a 2.35 ERA (38.1 IP/10 ER) in 34 outings prior to the All-Star Break. Went 2-2 with a 4.18 ERA (28.0 IP/13 ER) in 28 outings after the All-Star Break, with four saves.
2021
Spent most of the season at Triple-A Las Vegas where he was 2-5 with a save and a 6.10 ERA in 29 games, including four starts…also had two stints with Oakland and was 0-3 with a 6.08 ERA, .310 opponents batting average and .764 OPS in 12 relief appearances in his second season with the A’s…went 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA, .238 opponents average and .652 OPS in 10 relief appearances in 2019... Struck out 16 batters in 13.1 innings overall but also walked six for a .385 opponents on-base percentage... His opponents batting average broke down to .267 (4-for-15) with a .686 OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .326 (14-for-43) with a .791 OPS against right-handers... Allowed a .241 average with the bases empty, .379 with runners on…yielded a .417 batting average with runners in scoring position... Stranded both of his inherited runners but had two blown saves…first batters faced were 3-for-12 (.250)… Had an 8.59 ERA and .892 opponents OPS in five games in Oakland, a 3.00 ERA and .583 opponents OPS in seven games on the road... Allowed seven runs in six outings on one day of rest or fewer (12.60 ERA), two runs in his other appearances (3.60 ERA)… With Las Vegas, he had an 11.50 ERA, 1.185 opponents OPS and nine home runs in 18.0 innings over his first 13 games through June 22…then compiled a 1.64 ERA, .658 OPS and one home run in 22.0 innings over his next 13 outings from June 26 to Aug. 6…went 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA and .895 OPS in three starts following his Sept. 8 option from Oakland... His 12 home runs were his most as a minor leaguer and his one save was the first of his professional career... Struck out 58 in 48.2 innings (10.73 per nine innings) and walked 19 (3.51 per nine innings)… Had a .303 opponents batting average, which broke down to .212 (18-for-85) with a .646 OPS against left-handed hitters compared to .371 (43-for-116) with a 1.098 OPS against righthanders…surrendered nine of his 12 home runs to righties…eight were solo shots... Allowed 6-of-10 (60.0%) inherited runners to score and first batters faced were 10-for-22 (.455) with two walks. Had a 7.80 ERA, .341 opponents batting average and .986 OPS in 18 games at home…logged a 3.38 ERA, .232 opponents average and .749 OPS in 11 games on the road... The opponents number four hitter was 3-for-21 (.143) against him but the five hitter was 11-for-21 (.524)… Tossed at least one inning in 27 of his 29 appearances, including two or more 13 times... Was rated as the A’s sixth-best prospect by Baseball America following the season.
2020
Made two starts during the spring and did not allow a run before he was shut down with a shoulder injury…tossed 3.0 innings and allowed two hits and a walk while striking out two…resumed throwing shortly before camp was halted and was pitching again when camp resumed in July… however, began the season on the injured list as he was placed on the 10-day IL July 20 with a strained left shoulder…resumed throwing at the A’s alternate camp in August but was shut down again in early September…was transferred to the 45-day IL on Sept. 14 and underwent surgery on the left shoulder on Sept. 16 at the Kerlan-Job Clinic in Los Angeles, Calif…the surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who also did his “Tommy John” surgery in 2018…was rated as the A’s number two prospect by Baseball America following the season.
2019
Began the season on the minor league injured list as he continued his recovery from April 10, 2018 ulnar collateral ligament surgery... started his come back at Single-A Stockton on June 11 and made three appearances with the Ports, six at Double-A Midland and nine in his Triple-A debut at Las Vegas before he was selected by Oakland on Aug. 20…went 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA in 10 relief appearances in his Major League debut…struck out 13 batters in 11.1 innings (10.32 per nine innings)…walked five for a .319 on-base percentage but yielded just one double and one home run for a .333 slugging percentage…allowed a .238 opponents batting average, which broke down to .172 (5-for-29) against right-handed hitters compared to .385 (5-for-13) against left-handers…surrendered his only home run and issued four of his five walks to righties…opponents hit .200 with the bases empty, .294 with runners on…did not allow a run in four games (5. ip) on the road…had a 5.68 ERA in six games in Oakland…allowed 1-of-3 (33.3%) inherited runners to score…first batters faced were 2-for-8 (.250) with two walks…tossed two innings or fewer in each of his 10 appearances…made his ML debut on Aug. 21 against New York (0.1 ip, 1 h, 1 bb, 0 so)…did not record his first strikeout until his third outing on Aug. 26 at Kansas City…fanned Nicky Lopez to lead off the bottom of the seventh…was credited with his first ML win Sept. 5 against Los Angeles (AL)…entered the game to start the sixth inning with the A's trailing 5-1 and allowed a run on one hit in 2.0 innings…Oakland then scored seven times in the seventh to win 10-6…it was his first of four outings of 2.0 innings…did not allow a run in four straight appearances from Sept. 7 to 17 (5.0 ip)…struck out a season-high three batters in his final game on Sept. 27 at Seattle (1.0 ip, 1 h)…was on the A's roster for the American League Wild Card Game but did not pitch…was rated as the A's number two prospect by Baseball America following the season.
MINORS: Combined for a 4-1 record, a 4.97 ERA and .226 opponents batting average in 18 games, including four starts, with Stockton, Midland and Las Vegas…struck out 38 batters in 25.1 innings, an average of 13.50 per nine innings…walked 10 (3.55 per nine innings) and surrendered seven home runs (2.49 per nine innings)…tossed two innings or fewer in all 18 of his appearances and allowed one run or more 11 times…his opponents batting average broke down to .222 (6-for-27) with three home runs against left-handed hitters compared to .227 (15-for-66) with four home runs against right-handers…allowed a .276 batting average and all seven of his home runs with the base empty, .143 with runners on…yielded a .263 batting average with runners in scoring position…made his first start for Stockton on June 11 against San Jose (2.0 ip, 1 h, 1 r, 1 er, 1 bb, 4 so)…it was his first of seven outings of 2.0 innings and his first of four four-strikeout games (June 28 at Frisco, July 11 vs. Corpus Christi, July 16 at Arkansas)…had season highs in runs (3), hits (3), walks (2) and pitches (47) against San Jose on June 21…also surrendered three runs on July 30 against New Orleans and yielded three hits on June 28 at Frisco…was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA in three starts for Stockton when he was moved up to Midland on June 28…tossed at least one inning in each of his six outings with the RockHounds, including his lone start on July 16 at Arkansas when he tossed 2.0 scoreless innings and struck out a season-high four…logged a 4.32 ERA in six games with Midland and was moved up to Las Vegas on July 23…went 4-1 with a 4.91 ERA in nine relief appearances with the Aviators…did not allow a run in each of his first two outings on July 23 against El Paso (2.0 ip) and July 26 at El Paso (1.0 ip) and was credited with the win in each outing…made his final minor league appearance on Aug. 17 with a scoreless inning of relief against Albuquerque (2 so).
2018
Missed the entire 2018 season after undergoing "Tommy John" surgery…was a non-roster invitee to Major League Spring Training and went 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in four games, including three starts, before he was reassigned to minor league camp March 18…had surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his left arm April 10…the surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles, Calif…was rated as the A's No. 2 prospect by Baseball America following the season.
2017
Split his first full professional season between SingleA Stockton and Double-A Midland…combined for a 6-10 record and a 4.03 ERA in 27 games, including 24 starts…struck out 184 batters in 125.0 innings, an average of 13.24 per nine innings…ranked third in all of the minors in strikeouts behind Alec Hansen (191) and Triston McKenzie (186)…the strikeouts led the A's farm system and tied for the sixth best total by a minor leaguer in Oakland history…also ranked eighth in the A's farm system in ERA and innings pitched…was named the A's Organization Pitcher of the Year…walked 48 for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.83…surrendered just three home runs, an average of 0.22 per nine innings…was named to the California League Midseason All-Star Team but did not pitch in the June 20 game following a June 15 promotion to Midland…represented the United States in the All-Star Futures Game…allowed a .227 opponents batting average, which included .227 (80-for-352) against right-handed hitters compared to .228 (28-for-123) against left-handers… allowed just three extra base hits to lefties for a .269 slugging percentage (.332 vs. righties)… opponents hit .248 with runners in scoring position…posted a 2.92 ERA over innings one through five, had a 9.30 ERA from the sixth inning on…made all three of his relief appearances over his first six games with Stockton and was 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in those games…combined with both clubs to go 6-8 with a 3.68 ERA in his 24 starts…his teams were 10-14 (.417) in his starting assignments…tossed more than five innings in just 10 of his 24 starts…had more strikeouts than innings pitched in 22 of his 27 contests…was named the A's number one prospect by Baseball America following the season.
STOCKTON: Began the season at Stockton and went 4-5 with a 3.69 ERA and .196 opponents batting average in 14 games, including 11 starts with the Ports…surrendered just one home run in 61.1 innings…struck out 98 (14.38 per nine innings)…yielded a .175 average to batters leading off an inning…did not allow an earned run in two of his first three appearances (1 er in 12.0 ip, 0.75 ERA)…then allowed a season-high five runs on five hits in 3.0 innings of relief April 23 against San Jose for his first decision of the season, a loss…took the loss in three consecutive appearances from April 23 to May 1 (11.88 ERA)…then picked up his first win in a start on May 6 against San Jose…tossed 5.0 scoreless innings, allowed one hit and did not walk a batter while striking out nine in a 13-2 win…that began a six-start through June 3 when he went 4-1 with a 2.32 ERA…was named California League Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 22-28…won each of his two starts that week on May 22 against Lake Elsinore and May 27 at Rancho Cucamonga…allowed just one run (0.87 ERA) and one hit (.029 opponents batting average) while striking out 15 in 10.2 innings…however, walked a season-high four batters in each start…struck out 12 batters in 6.2 innings June 3 against Lancaster, his first of four 10-strikeout games…fanned 11 in 6.2 innings in his final Single-A start June 14 against Visalia…was leading the league in strikeouts (98), ranked second in opponents batting average (.196) and 10th in ERA (3.69) when he was promoted to Midland June 15.
MIDLAND: Went 2-5 with a 4.36 ERA in 13 starts with the RockHounds…struck out 86 batters, which was the second best figure in the Texas League from the time he joined the club (June 15) through the end of the season…was 2-2 with a 2.51 ERA in eight starts at home, 0-3 with a 9.35 ERA in five starts on the road…tossed a season-high 7.0 innings in his first Double-A start on June 19 at Frisco but was the losing pitcher in Midland's 3-1 loss…then tossed a season low 0.1 innings in his next start June 24 at San Antonio (3 h, 4 r, 4 er, 3 bb, 1 so)…walked a seasonhigh tying four batters July 2 against Tulsa…pitched for Team USA in the All-Star Futures Game July 9 at Miami and recorded the final two outs of a 7-6 win (0.2 ip, 2 h, 2 r, 1 er, 1 bb)…allowed a season-high tying five runs in 1.0 innings July 18 at San Antonio…was 0-3 with a 6.98 ERA over his first five starts at Midland…then allowed one run in 5.0 innings in the second game of a July 23 doubleheader against Corpus Christi for his first Double-A win and went 2-2 with a 3.22 ERA over his final eight starts with the RockHounds…struck out a season-high 13 batters and walked just one in 6.2 innings against San Antonio Aug. 3…allowed a season-high eight hits in 5.1 innings against Northwest Arkansas Aug. 15…matched his season-high with 13 strikeouts and did not walk a batter in 6.0 innings in his final regular season start on Aug. 31 against San Antonio…allowed two unearned runs but took the loss in a 5-0 decision…tossed a season-high 109 pitches… went 1-2 with a 3.03 ERA in six starts in August…struck out 53 batters in 35.2 innings and led all of the minor leagues in strikeouts in August…made one postseason start for the TL Champion RockHounds and had a no decision in Midland's 9-2 win over San Antonio in Game 1 of the Semifinals (4.0 ip, 2 h, 4 so).
2016
Was the A's first round selection in the 2016 draft and was assigned to Vermont of the Short Season Single-A New York-Penn League after signing on June 30…went 0-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 10 starts with the Lake Monsters…did not allow an earned run in five of his six no decisions (0.98 ERA)…did not allow a run in three of those games, but tossed fewer than five innings in all but one start…struck out 40 batters in 32.2 innings (11.02 strikeouts per nine innings) and did not allow a home run…held the opposition to a .185 batting average, including .157 (14-for-89) against right-handed hitters compared to .257 (9-for-35) against left-handers…opponents were 3-for-32 (.094) with four walks (.194 on-base percentage) when leading off an inning…yielded a .353 average with runners in scoring position and two outs…combined for a 1.40 ERA in the first and second inning…had a 5.40 ERA from the third inning on…made his professional debut July 12 at Auburn and tossed 2.0 scoreless innings…the first batter he faced reached on an error but he retired each of the final five batters he faced…did not record his first strikeout until his third start on July 22 against Hudson Valley…allowed a season-high four runs in 2.2 innings for his first loss July 28 against Brooklyn…struck out 15 of the 30 batters he faced over a two start stretch from Aug. 8 to 14 (7.2 ip)…including a season-high eight strikeouts in 3.2 scoreless innings Aug. 14 against Tri-City…then tossed a season-high 5.0 scoreless innings in his next start Aug. 26 at Aberdeen but had a no decision in a 3-1 loss…yielded just two hits and did not walk a batter…walked a season-high five batters and yielded a season-high tying four runs for the loss in his next start Aug. 26 at Connecticut…was rated as the A's number two prospect by Baseball America following the season.
