Joshua Kuroda-Grauer’s night ended with a painful injury, but not before the former Rutgers standout and Franklin High School star made his mark for the Oakland A’s.
The Somerset native suffered a ruptured testicle after a foul ball struck him in the groin during the fifth inning of Monday night’s 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks. Even after dropping to the ground in pain, he stayed in the game, lined a single in the at-bat, and then was lifted for Donovan Walton at third base in the sixth.
A day later, the A’s said Kuroda-Grauer was resting comfortably.
The injury came on a night that also brought a milestone for the infielder: he hit his first career homer in the second inning. Since being called up June 29 from the minors, he has batted .417 with seven doubles in his first 16 big league games.
Kuroda-Grauer became the second Rutgers player to debut in the majors this season when he reached the big leagues last month, joining relief pitcher Brian Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick, a Long Island native, made five appearances for the Milwaukee Brewers before suffering a UCL injury earlier this month.
This summer is the first time since 2021 that two former Rutgers players have appeared in an MLB game in the same season. Brian O’Grady and Patrick Kivlehan were the last pair to do it, during the 2021 campaign.
Kuroda-Grauer’s rise to the majors was fueled by a huge second season in the minors. The 75th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft hit .323 with seven home runs, 44 RBI, 15 stolen bases and an .845 OPS in 75 minor league games between Double-A Midland and Triple-A Las Vegas. He also led all of Minor League Baseball with 109 hits, ranked second in runs with 76 and tied for fifth in doubles with 23.
That production carried over from a standout finish to his Rutgers career. In 2024, as a junior, he was named Big Ten Player of the Year, becoming the first Rutgers player to win a major conference award since the school joined the league.
He was also a first-team All-American pick by Perfect Game and a first-team All-Big Ten selection. That spring, he led the nation in regular-season hits with 95 and hits per game at 1.79, finished second with a .428 batting average, stole 24 bases, committed just seven errors, and piled up 29 multi-hit games.
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