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Cardinals' Reyes to make 1st MLB start Saturday

Jake Roth / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Alex Reyes, the 21-year-old presumed future ace of the St. Louis Cardinals, will make his first major-league start Saturday against the Oakland Athletics.

The team made the announcement late Friday after original starter Mike Leake was diagnosed with shingles.

The flame-throwing Reyes has already made five appearances for the Cardinals after getting called up from the minors Aug. 9, pitching 9 1/3 scoreless innings out of the St. Louis bullpen - including 13 strikeouts and an MLB debut that registered 101 mph on the radar gun.

On Aug. 19, he also became the youngest Cardinals pitcher to record a save since a 20-year-old Rick Ankiel earned one in 1999.

Before his August promotion, Reyes was the top prospect in the Cardinals system, and the No. 8 prospect in all of baseball, after striking out a remarkable 93 hitters in 65 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A Memphis.

Reyes was suspended for 50 games for a positive marijuana test in Nov. 2015.

The youngster was signed by the Cardinals as an amateur free agent in 2012, inking a $950,000 deal.

(Video courtesy: MLB.com)

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