Drafted in the 3rd round (86th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2006 (signed for $250,000).
View Draft Report
No pitcher elicits more head-scratches in the West than Buck, who has gone from hard-throwing bad boy to soft-tossing, innings-eating warrior. A former special-teams player for Oregon State's football team, Buck is one of the draft's better athletes, and his athletic ability and competitiveness have helped him pitch through a dead-arm period that has sapped his velocity. While Buck won his first nine decisions for the Pacific-10 Conference-leading Beavers, his fastball registered in the 82-87 mph range after sitting around 89-91 mph last season and touching 94. A mid-April MRI showed a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament, with no tear. He had three solid starts with improved velocity thereafter, but slid back in mid-May to the mid-80s. Without his velocity, Buck has relied on adding sink to his fastball, spotting it better and outwitting hitters with his slider and changeup, both average pitches. While his mound demeanor has turned off scouts in the past, his willingness to compete without his best stuff has offset many makeup concerns. If his velocity returns, Buck should be better than ever, having learned to pitch in its absence.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
When the Reds finally decided to trade Adam Dunn, they acquired Buck along with Micah Owings and catching prospect Wilkin Castillo from the Diamondbacks. Buck showed first-round talent as an Oregon State sophomore in 2005, but his arm came up sore the next year. He pitched through pain and managed to succeed despite diminished velocity, playing a key role in the Beavers' 2006 College World Series championship. Buck had a partial ligament tear in his elbow, which dropped him to the third round of the draft, and he signed for a cut-rate $250,000. He tried to recover through rest and rehab before having Tommy John surgery midway through the 2007 season. He returned in mid-2008, though his fastball didn't climb back above 90 mph until after the trade. He showed 90-92 mph velocity in three starts with Sarasota, but he has yet to show the same power sink he had before the injury. He also throws a slider and a changeup, and he's still regaining the feel for them as well. Buck's ability to throw strikes and compete hasn't changed. If he can get back to what he was before the injury, he has legitimate front-of-the-rotation stuff. If not, his competitiveness and guile may allow him to survive anyway. It's too early to know if he left his best stuff in Corvallis.
Courage and guile had become Buck's trademarks, but he finally faced reality in the middle of last season and had Tommy John surgery in August. Something had obviously been wrong with his arm for a while, because he had been one of the top prospects for the 2006 draft until his velocity dropped during his junior season. He gutted it out and played a major role in Oregon State's 2006 College World Series championship, but doctors found a partial ligament tear in his elbow after the draft. Signed for a discounted $250,000, he opted for rehab over surgery and made it through 16 starts in high Class A last year. Again it was obvious he wasn't at full strength, however, as he still was throwing at 85-88 mph with a lot of effort. When he's healthy, Buck's fastball is more in the 89-91 mph range, touching 94, and he complements it with a slider and changeup. Interestingly, scouts still liked his pitches when they saw him last year, particularly his changeup and the sink on his fastball, so he still could be a premium pitcher if he gets the power back in his arm. Unfortunately, trying to pitch through the injury now means that both 2007 and 2008 will essentially be lost seasons for him. Depending on how his arm responds, Buck should get some work at the end of this year, but he probably won't do anything meaningful until 2009.
Buck had one of the more intriguing college careers a player can have. A former specialteams player on Oregon State's football team, he was regarded as a hard-throwing bad boy and was one of the top prospects for the 2006 draft heading into his junior season. While he got results, his fastball dropped into the mid-80s after sitting around 89-91 mph and touching 94 as a sophomore. He battled anyway, and he got the win in relief--two days after going six-plus innings as a starter--as Oregon State defeated North Carolina to win the College World Series. He finished the spring 13-3, 3.34 and solidified his reputation as a warrior. He signed with the Arizona at a below-market $250,000 for a third-rounder, after doctors discovered a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Buck elected to try rehab and weightlifting instead of having Tommy John surgery over the winter, and the Diamondbacks let him because they saw little downside. If he's not healthy in spring training, he'll have the operation. Either way, he would have missed the 2007 season. When healthy, Buck complements his sinking fastball with an average slider and changeup. He showed moxie and an improved feel for pitching when working without his best stuff last spring. The Diamondbacks will hope he's healthy in spring training, and if so he could open in high Class A. If not, he'll start his career in 2008.
Download our app
Read the newest magazine issue right on your phone