Former IU baseball pitcher Andrew Saalfrank receives one-year suspension – The Daily Hoosier

Former IU baseball pitcher Andrew Saalfrank, who last pitched for Triple-A Reno, was suspended for one year for betting on baseball in 2021 and 2022.

At the time, he was at Low-A Visalia recovering from Tommy John surgery. He bet a total of $445 and lost money.

In September, Saalfrank became the last Hoosier to make his MLB postseason debut, coming after being called up to the major leagues in September. The left-hander threw 10.1 scoreless innings as a relief pitcher during the 2023 regular season and had a 3.18 ERA in 5.2 postseason innings, including three World Series appearances.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo spoke to the media about the suspension before Tuesday’s game.

“Andrew made a bad decision,” Lovullo said. “The rules are very clear, they’re explained to the players multiple times during spring training. The reason is simple: We have to protect the integrity of this game. Andrew knew that, he understood that, he made a really bad decision.”

“What I do know is that Andrew feels remorse. He made a mistake. He feels terrible, but he will face the consequences. He will be suspended from his baseball team for a full year. This is painful for him and painful for us. So all we can do is continue to encourage him to do the right thing, learn from this and we will see him again.”

Players are prohibited from betting on baseball or face a one-year ban. Players who bet on games involving their own teams are banned permanently. For this reason, the league suspended San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano on Tuesday.

Here is MLB’s statement on Saalfrank’s gambling activities:

Saalfrank is from the Fort Wayne, Indiana area and attended Heritage HS. He was a pitcher for the Hoosiers from 2017 to 2019.

As a junior, he was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year in 2019, when he posted a 2.84 ERA, 1.288 WHIP, .246 batting average against, and 98 strikeouts. During his three-year career in Bloomington, Saalfrank posted a 3.81 ERA, 1.181 WHIP, .257 batting average against, and 188 strikeouts.

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