Vancouver native Trystan Magnuson made his major league debut with the A's in 2011.
The Jays drafted Trystan Magnuson with the 56th pick of the 2007 amateur draft out of the University of Louisville. The nephew of late Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Keith Magnuson, the 6-foot-7 210 pound righty endured a rough introduction to the minor leagues as he went 0-9 with a 5.40 earned run average with Lansing in 2008. Things went much smoother in 2009. Magnuson split the season in Dunedin and New Hampshire, going 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA with the D-Jays before adding ten more shutout innings and recording a win with New Hampshire. In 2010, Magnuson remained undefeated in Double-A by posting a 4-0 record and a 2.58 ERA to go with five saves and a career low WHIP of 1.091. However, Magnuson was dealt to Oakland with fellow reliever Danny Farquhar for outfielder Rajai Davis on November 7. Fast forward nearly a year later, both Magnuson and Farquhar are back in the Blue Jays nest.
In 2011, Magnuson was called up to Oakland in May and made his big league debut on the 17th against the Los Angeles Angels. He came into the game in the ninth with the A's clinging to a 14-0 lead. He received a rude greeting from Angels catcher Jeff Mathis who singled on the first pitch Manguson threw. However, the tall righty managed to overcome that hiccup by retiring the next three hitters, striking out Hank Conger to end the game. Unfortunately, Magnuson was cuffed around for six runs in two innings by the Twins two days later. His next appearance with Oakland did not come until June 30 but it was his best one as he spun 3 1/3 shutout innings against the Florida Marlins. The Vancouver native did get to pitch on Canadian soil August 10 at the Dome in which he gave up a run on two hits courtesy of a Jose Bautista single and an Edwin Encarnacion RBI double. He did record an inning-ending strikeout of Aaron Hill.
FanGraphs shows Magnuson relied mostly on a fastball-cutter combination with the A's along with a slider and an occasional changeup. His fastball was around 92 MPH, his cutter clocked in at 87 and his slider was about 84.
Magnuson was 0-0 with a 6.14 ERA over nine appearances with Oakland. He pitched 14 2/3 innings with a 11-5 K/BB total and a WHIP of 1.36. At Triple-A Sacramento, Magnuson was 4-2 with a 2.98 ERA and five saves. He struck out 46 batters in 45 1/3 innings to go along with a respectable WHIP of 1.169. The 26 year-old hopes he can avoid another tour of duty in the Pacific Coast League in 2012 as he will try to be a piece of the puzzle called the Blue Jays bullpen in 2012.
