Jamie D’Antona has made his major league debut. On July 22, pinch-hitting for Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Chad Qualls, the former Trumbull High star singled off Kevin Hart of the Chicago Cubs.

The Diamondbacks plan to use D’Antona as a pinch-hitter for the remainder of this season. To make room on the 40-man roster, Arizona moved fan-favorite Eric Byrnes from the 15-day to the 60-day disabled list.

So why the promotion in his sixth professional season? Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com that D’Antona’s dominant performance with the AAA Tucson Sidewinders warranted a chance at the big leagues.

In his second year with the Sidewinders D’Antona, 26, was leading the club in batting average (.367), hits (126), on-base percentage (.407), slugging percentage (.612), and doubles (31) at the time of his call up.

D’Antona recently represented the Diamondbacks organization at both the Futures Game in Yankee Stadium and the Triple-A All-Star game in Louisville, KY. D’Antona won the Triple-A Home Run Derby and delivered the go ahead RBI in the Pacific Coast League’s 6-5 victory over the International League in the Triple-A All-Star Game.

“There’s a guy that deserves a shot at the big leagues,” Melvin told MLB.com. “You look at his Triple-A numbers and they’re off the charts. Through hard work and great performance, he deserves a shot at the big league level.”