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Former Ohio Slugger Krauss Called Up To MLB’s Astros


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Former Ohio Baseball standout Marc Krauss got the call of a lifetime Thursday. The 25-year-old first baseman and outfielder was called up to Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros as first reported by Mark Berman of Houston’s FOX affiliate Thursday evening.

Krauss hit .277 with nine home runs and 35 RBIs in 65 games with the Astros’ AAA affiliate, the Oklahoma City RedHawks before getting the call. Krauss was added to the Astros’ 25-man roster after outfielder Trevor Crowe was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a shoulder injury he incurred in a collision with the outfield wall Thursday.

Krauss was taken in the second round of the 2009 (64th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks after his junior season. The Deshler, Ohio, native racked up numerous honors in his three seasons with the ‘Cats. In his junior season, Krauss capped off his career by earning numerous accolades, including First-Team All-America honors from the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. He was also a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the nation’s top college baseball player, and became the first player in Ohio history to win the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Award.

That season he led the NCAA with 0.51 home runs per game and set a school record with 27 on the season. He finished his junior campaign with a .402 batting average and 70 RBIs—which tied the school’s single-season record.

A broadcast journalism major during his three years at Ohio University, Krauss has a career .276 batting average in five seasons between the Diamondbacks’ and Astros’ farm systems to go along with 72 home runs.

He was invited to the Astros’ spring training this season, before eventually being sent to AAA Oklahoma City to start the season. But he was able to make a lasting impact on the Houston coaching staff during his time with the team in Kissimmee, Fla..

"Krauss had some big hits for us," general manager Jeff Luhnow said, per MLB.com. “He’s a guy you could see having some time in Houston this year,” Houston general manager Jeff Lunhow told MLB.com this spring. “It’s nice when the staff has positive feelings about them so when we have a discussion, if there’s an opening later in the summer; they’ll be inclined to want him to come up."

The Astros are in their first season in the American League after 50 seasons in the National League. So far the team has struggled, and currently owns the league’s second worst record at just 28-46. Krauss will likely get time in right and left field during his time with the Astros this summer since Chris Carter and Carlos Pena are holding down the first base and designated hitter positions respectively. Krauss possess a powerful bat, and has been a fairly patient hitter during his minor league career with a career .373 on-base percentage.

Houston took the field against the Chicago Cubs Friday at 2 p.m., but Krauss was not in the starting lineup. His first game with the team will be the slugger’s major league debut.