Athletics' Jesus Luzardo: Solid in Triple-A debut

Luzardo (1-0) made his debut with Triple-A Memphis on Monday, firing five scoreless innings in which he allowed eight hits and recorded six strikeouts.

The promising prospect is on the fast track through the A's organization, with his promotion to Triple-A coming after he dominated at Double-A Midland over 73.2 innings. Although he pitched to some contact Monday, he ultimately prevented any damage and clearly had no trouble missing bats. Assuming Luzardo remains healthy and effective at Triple-A, the A's will face an intriguing decision over the final two months of the big-league season. Luzardo clearly profiles as someone who could help the big-league rotation as the A's push for a playoff spot, but they may not want to start his clock until early 2019, in order to maximize team control.