Micah Bucknam Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Micah Joel Bucknam
Born 08/26/2003 in Nelson, New Zealand
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 205 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Mennonite
Drafted in the 4th round (112th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025 (signed for $678,300).

View Draft Report

School: Dallas Baptist Drafted/Committed: Blue Jays ’21 (16)
Age At Draft: 21.9

Bucknam was born in New Zealand and grew up in Canada, where he became a well-known high school prospect and was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 16th round in 2021. He instead enrolled at LSU, where he made eight relief appearances in each of his first two seasons before transferring to Dallas Baptist for the 2025 season. A 6-foot-1, 210-pound righthander, Bucknam moved into a starting role with DBU and found success, going 6-2, 4.62 with a 29.4% strikeout rate and a 9.2% walk rate. Bucknam works with a true four-pitch mix. His 93-94 mph four-seam fastball can touch 96 and now shows more carry with less run than earlier in his amateur career. He also throws a hard slider in the upper 80s, a slower, bigger curveball in the low 80s and an upper-80s changeup with plenty of armside fade. It’s a lively arsenal that produced plenty of whiffs both in and out of the zone. Both his slider and curveball generated miss rates above 45% in 2025. Bucknam’s control is generally solid, and he has shortened his arm path since his freshman year, though evaluators still have concerns about whether his command and feel for his secondaries will ultimately push him to a relief role. His improvements in 2025 should at least give him a better chance to stick on a starter track.

Top Rankings

Draft Prospects

School: Dallas Baptist Drafted/Committed: Blue Jays ’21 (16)
Age At Draft: 21.9

Bucknam was born in New Zealand and grew up in Canada, where he became a well-known high school prospect and was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 16th round in 2021. He instead enrolled at LSU, where he made eight relief appearances in each of his first two seasons before transferring to Dallas Baptist for the 2025 season. A 6-foot-1, 210-pound righthander, Bucknam moved into a starting role with DBU and found success, going 6-2, 4.62 with a 29.4% strikeout rate and a 9.2% walk rate. Bucknam works with a true four-pitch mix. His 93-94 mph four-seam fastball can touch 96 and now shows more carry with less run than earlier in his amateur career. He also throws a hard slider in the upper 80s, a slower, bigger curveball in the low 80s and an upper-80s changeup with plenty of armside fade. It’s a lively arsenal that produced plenty of whiffs both in and out of the zone. Both his slider and curveball generated miss rates above 45% in 2025. Bucknam’s control is generally solid, and he has shortened his arm path since his freshman year, though evaluators still have concerns about whether his command and feel for his secondaries will ultimately push him to a relief role. His improvements in 2025 should at least give him a better chance to stick on a starter track.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Canadian righthander has only recently been able to throw against hitters, leaving strict pandemic protocols in his home country behind to get on the mound south of the border. He’s shown solid stuff with a fastball in the low 90s that has gotten up to 95 mph, to go with a curveball-slider bend and a changeup that is normally his best offspeed pitch but still needs work. He’s young for the class and has shown rapid improvements in a short time, making him an intriguing prospect with plenty of projectability remaining.