Baseball: Trevor Bauer’s big moment has arrived

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Those who have seen the development of former Newhall Hart and UCLA pitcher Trevor Bauer over the last four years are not surprised he will be making his major-league debut on Thursday for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Atlanta Braves. He will be the first from the draft class of 2011 to reach the majors.

‘You knew he was destined to pitch in the major leagues,’ UCLA Coach John Savage said. ‘I first saw him at Birmingham High as a junior. It was probably the best high school performance I’ve ever seen. Right there, I said, ‘This guy is a major-league pitcher.’ ‘

Bauer, drafted No. 3 overall last year by Arizona, passed up his senior year at Hart to enroll at UCLA. He was a straight-A student at Hart who decided he needed a challenge beyond high school ball.

Jim Ozella, Bauer’s coach at Hart, said, ‘At every level, he’s taken it to the next step and exceeded it.’

Bauer, 21, is known for his unorthodox long-toss program and independent-minded thinking process.

Above is video from the fall of 2008 just before Bauer enrolled at UCLA as a 17-year-old freshman.

-- Eric Sondheimer