JB Bukauskas

BIOGRAPHY

J.B. Bukauskas was born on October 11, 1996, in Ashburn, Virginia. He is a pitcher in the MLB.

Bukauskas attended Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia. As a freshman, he helped Stone Bridge win both the regular season and district titles. On July 7, 2012, Bukauskas committed to the University of North Carolina, which he considered his "dream school." As a sophomore, he was named first-team All-Met. Bukauskas reclassified during the summer after his sophomore year in order to graduate and attend North Carolina a year early. He was named the 2014 All-Met Baseball Player of the Year after compiling a 7-0 record, striking out 88 batters, and not allowing an earned run during the season. Bukauskas finished his high school career with a 21-3 record, 264 strikeouts, and a 0.88 ERA.

The Houston Astros selected Bukauskas with the 15th overall selection in the 2017 MLB draft. He signed with the Astros on July 7, 2017. He was assigned to the GCL Astros, and after one scoreless outing for them, was promoted to the Tri-City ValleyCats where he finished the season, posting a 4.50 ERA in six innings pitched.

In 2018, Bukauskas returned to pitch in the GCL and with the ValleyCats along with pitching for the Quad Cities River Bandits, Buies Creek Astros, and the Corpus Christi Hooks, compiling a combined 4–2 record with a 2.14 ERA in 14 starts between the five teams.

Bukauskas was traded on July 31, 2019, to the Arizona Diamondbacks (along with Corbin Martin, Seth Beer, Joshua Rojas) and cash considerations in exchange for Zack Greinke. On November 20, 2020, Bukauskas was added to the 40-man roster.

On April 18, 2021, Bukauskas was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut on April 20th against the Cincinnati Reds, getting Nick Senzel to fly out as the only batter he faced.