Meet Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Sean Doolittle. The 25-year-old fireballer owns a 1.86 ERA over 19.1 IP this season. The 41st pick of the 2007 MLB Draft has struck out 29 batters, good for 13.5 K/9.

While Doolittle’s relief success is impressive enough, his back story is something to behold. Although he played both pitcher and first baseman at the University of Virginia, Doolittle was drafted as a fielder.

At 21 years old, Doolittle tore through +A and AA ball, batting .286 with 22 home runs and 91 RBI. Doolittle’s performance earned him a call up to AAA the following season. However, Doolittle only saw 28 games in 2009. He missed the entire 2010 season while recovering from two knee surgeries.

The A’s saw something in their prospect, however, and placed him on the 40 man roster in the 2011 offseason to protect him from the rule 5 draft. In 2011, Oakland recast Doolittle as a pitcher. He pitched one inning that season. He struck out two batters and allowed one earned run.

The 2012 season started a healthy Doolittle in A+. Again, the young man shot through the farm system. Over 25 IP, Doolittle struck out 48 A+, AA and AAA batters while allowing two earned runs. His stat sheet looks impossible: 0.60 WHIP, 0.72 ERA, 17.3 K/9, 6.86 K/BB.

On June 4, 2012, Doolittle earned his first major league call up. Doolittle is yet to allow a home run in his pitching career and could well be on his way to earning the closer role for baseball’s hottest team. The 6’3″, 212 pound lefty has stuck out a batter in 12 of his 15 appearances this season and seems to still be learning on the job.

The Big Guy