Port Washington alum George Klassen makes MLB debut with Angels

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Port Washington High School alumnus George Klassen got called upon on short notice to make his Major League debut on April 5, getting a short start for the Los Angeles Angels in what became an 8-7 win over the Seattle Mariners.

The Angels scratched scheduled starter Ryan Johnson because of illness and turned to Klassen, a top-five prospect in the organization who began the season at Class AAA Salt Lake. The 24-year-old worked 2⅔ innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with five walks and four strikeouts in a game the Angels eventually won in the 11th inning, 8-7.

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“I think we saw maturity,” Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said after the game. “In the sense of when things kind of got rolling a little bit in spring, he made adjustments quickly. In the past, things probably would have snowballed a little bit on him. He's always had the stuff, but he was a lot more consistent in the zone and attacking.”

Klassen was dealt to the Angels from the Phillies in 2024 as part of a deal that sent reliever Carlos Estévez to Philadelphia. Last year in the Angels organization, Klassen had a 5.22 ERA but struck out 134 batters in 109 innings, and he did a lot of that after getting hit on the head with a line drive in May. He also got selected for the All-Star Futures Game.

In his first start of the year at Salt Lake, Klassen allowed one run over 4⅔ innings with five strikeouts and no walks. The Angels had to add him to the 40-man roster for the spot start.

The Angels were still buzzing over a 1-0 win one night earlier, with outfielder Jo Adell robbing three home runs to secure the victory.

A sixth-round draft pick in 2023, Klassen originally committed to Purdue before switching to Minnesota, and he played with the Lakeshore Chinooks in Mequon in summer 2022, where he struck out 42 batters in 29 innings.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Port Washington alum George Klassen makes MLB debut with Angels

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