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WASHINGTON -- Twenty-nine-year-old PJ Poulin had been eagerly awaiting his Major League debut since he was selected by the Rockies in the 11th round of the 2018 MLB Draft.
The opportunity arose on Tuesday when the Nationals activated him, and he capitalized on it by throwing a scoreless inning against the Athletics. Poulin faced five batters, allowed two hits, recorded one strikeout and did not issue a walk.
“He wasn’t scared to throw strikes,” said interim manager Miguel Cairo. “You can tell that he’s been around and he knew how to throw that ball down in the strike zone. All of a sudden, he threw that four-seamer up. It was a good mix.”
The Nationals claimed Poulin off waivers from the Tigers on Sunday after he had been designated for assignment on Thursday. He was added to Washington’s Major League roster on Tuesday.
“Needless to say, I didn’t expect to just come right here not ever having been here,” Poulin said pregame in the Nationals' dugout. “That was definitely unexpected, but obviously super, super cool.”
Poulin joins the Nats’ bullpen as the fourth lefty, along with Jose A. Ferrer, Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Konnor Pilkington.
Poulin arrived from Triple-A Toledo, where he was 7-1 with a 3.38 ERA and two saves in 35 games (three starts) this season. His 13.08 strikeouts per nine innings rate ranked fourth among all Triple-A pitchers (minimum of 40 innings pitched). He also limited opponents to a .120 batting average in his last seven starts.
“I think I’ve done well with throwing more sliders, because it’s just a little bit of a different look, I think, than maybe some of the guys are used to seeing how I throw and how it comes out,” Poulin said. “It's been working well, so I'd like to keep doing that, see how it does here.”
Poulin played in the Rockies organization through 2023. Last year, he was traded to the Tigers for cash considerations and pitched to a 2.10 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A. Poulin was DFA’d when Detroit cleared roster space at the Trade Deadline.
“Thinking about the sweat, the tears that have gone into what it takes to get here,” Poulin said, “I guess it’s hard to put into words just how hard it can be to get here for so many years. I’m 29. This is my eighth year of professional baseball. I’m so happy to be standing here.”