DuRapau makes MLB debut with Pirates in St. Louis

Reliever becomes the 81st former Power player to debut in the bigs

Montana DuRapau became the 81st former Power player to make his MLB debut Thursday night. (Sam Santilli)

By Kyle Youmans

May 10, 2019

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (May 10, 2019) - After being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis Thursday by the Pittsburgh Pirates, RHP Montana DuRapau became the 81st former Power player to make his MLB debut after he entered out of the bullpen against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium Thursday night.The Deltona, Florida, native lasted two

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (May 10, 2019) - After being recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis Thursday by the Pittsburgh Pirates, RHP Montana DuRapau became the 81st former Power player to make his MLB debut after he entered out of the bullpen against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium Thursday night.
The Deltona, Florida, native lasted two innings in his debut, allowing one run on three hits and picking up his first MLB strikeout in the Pirates' 17-4 loss to the Cardinals.

Drafted in the 32nd round (971st overall) by Pittsburgh in 2014, DuRapau elevated to West Virginia at the beginning of the 2015 season. During his time with the Power, DuRapau made 11 appearances out of the bullpen, tossing 19.1 innings and posting a 1-0 record with a 1.40 ERA in the first half of 2015. He held batters to a .106 average against him and struck out 19 compared to one walk. DuRapau was then bumped to High-A Bradenton at the end of May and finished the season with Double-A Altoona while being named an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star.
The righty spent all of 2016 with the Curve, where he was a Midseason All-Star after heading to the hill 50 times as a reliever and going 3-3 with a 3.65 ERA. Over the course of the next two seasons, DuRapau bounced between Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, spending significant time at both levels.
DuRapau started the 2019 season with the Indians, boasting a 1-1 record with a 0.63 ERA over 12 relief outings. Overall, the Bethune-Cookman product was 16-11 with a career 2.47 ERA in 182 games (11 starts) in his Minor League career before his MLB debut Thursday.
DuRapau becomes the 11th player from the 2015 West Virginia Power roster to make his big-league debut, joining names like OF Connor Joe and INF Cole Tucker, who have also made their debuts this season. DuRapau is the fourth former Power player to make his debut in 2019, along with Joe, Tucker and LHP Taylor Hearn of the Texas Rangers.
West Virginia continues their homestand with the series finale against the Augusta GreenJackets Friday night at 7:05 p.m. at Appalachian Power Park. Stick around after the final out to enjoy a postgame fireworks show, presented by the WV Treasurer's Office Unclaimed Property Program and Suddenlink. For tickets and more information, call us at 304-344-2287 or visit wvpower.com.