Tag: J.B. Bukauskas

Former Diamond Heel JB Bukauskas to IL with lat strain

Former Diamond Heel J.B. Bukauskas is heading to the Injured List after a strong start to his 2024 MLB season.

College baseball has been playing since mid-February, while MLB didn’t celebrate Opening Day until March 28.

It’s too early to pick out the World Series contenders, but there is plenty of excitement already.

The Milwaukee Brewers are one of those teams who’ve created plenty of excitement, thanks to its young offensive core and strong pitching. It’s particularly encouraging to see the Brew Crew succeeding on the mound, as they lost ace Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles in the offseason.

One of many Milwaukee pitchers enjoying a solid opening month is former UNC standout J.B. Bukauskas, who carries a 1.50 earned run average through six appearances. Bukauskas was 21-6 with a 3.18 ERA in three season at North Carolina, including a 9-1 campaign in 2017.

Unfortunately for JB, he’ll be out of baseball for a couple weeks, as he was recently placed on the 15-day Injured List with a lat strain.

Bukauskas, picked 15th overall in the 2017 MLB Draft, has bounced around a bit since making his MLB Debut in 2021.

He won his first two games with the Arizona Diamondbacks that year, making a career-high 21 appearances. Bukauskas played in the minor leagues throughout 2022, then spent five 2023 MLB games between the Brewers and Seattle Mariners.

Hopefully for JB, he doesn’t spend more than the minimum time on the IL.

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Zac Gallen, Jacob Stallings, J.B. Bukauskas representing Diamond Heels in MLB Postseason

The UNC baseball program is well-represented in the MLB Postseason by Zac Gallen, Jacob Stallings and J.B. Bukauskas.

The UNC baseball program has churned out some star-level MLB talent in the last couple decades, headlined by former All-Star Andrew Miller, who took the Diamond Heels to the 2006 and 2007 College World Series finals.

The current MLB postseason holds a ton of that star-level talent, with former Tar Heels Zac Gallen, Jacob Stallings and J.B. Bukauskas all trying to help their teams advance to the ALDS.

As of Wednesday, Oct. 4, Gallen and the Arizona Diamondbacks had a 1-0 lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card Series. Arizona actually turned to their ace Wednesday night, in hopes of finishing Milwaukee off and vaulting it into the NLDS for the first time since 2017.

Bukauskas, a relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, is trying to stave off elimination. He recently landed on the 15-day injured list, making it unlikely he pitches in the postseason, but carried a 2-2 win-loss record, 5.92 ERA and 21 batters struck out, across 24.1 innings pitched in 27 appearances.

Stallings is splitting the Miami Marlins catcher duties with Nick Fortes, though neither has much to show for offensively. Stallings has 46 hits in 241 at-bats, 22 runs scored and 20 RBIs. He’s more known for his defensive abilities, though, as he won the National League’s 2021 Gold Glove Award for catchers.

Stallings and his Marlins teammates need to battle back from a 1-0 deficit against the Philadelphia Phillies in their NL Wild Card Series. He appeared as a defensive replacement for Fortes on Tuesday, Oct. 3 and could possibly appear for Miami as the starter in Game 2.

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