William Jennings "Billy" Buckner - Pitcher BIO

MLB Biography

William Jennings (Billy) Buckner.

...Graduated from Salem High in Conyers, Ga., where he earned All-Region and All-State honors in baseball.

...Played 2 seasons at Young Harris (Ga.) College, where he was named to the 2003 NJCAA All-District team and received 2002 NJCAA All-America honors.

...Selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the ninth round of the 2003 draft, but did not sign.

...Attended the University of South Carolina and helped lead the Gamecocks to the 2004 College World Series.

...as a junior, went 7-2 with a 3.32 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) with 105 strikeouts against 23 walks.


2006 Highlights

Split the season between High Desert (A) and Wichita (AA).

...compiled a 12-4 record with a 4.24 ERA (165.2 IP, 78 ER) in 29 starts combined.

...his 12 wins tied for the most in the organization.

...also combined to record 148 strikeouts, 3rd-most in the Royals system.

...Went 7-1 with a 3.90 ERA in 16 starts at High Desert, earning a spot on the California League's mid-season All-Star squad.

...Promoted to Wichita on July 1 and went 5-3 with a 4.64 ERA in 13 starts down the stretch for the Wranglers as they won the 2nd-half title.

...Named as the 9th-best prospect in the Royals system by Baseball America entering the 2007 season.

2007 Highlights

Posted a 1.17 ERA (1 ER in 7.2 IP) in 2 relief outings and was 1-2 with a 6.49 ERA (19 ER in 26.1 IP) in 5 starts for Royals.

...Named Omaha Pitcher of the Year.

...led all starters with at least 10 starts in ERA and walked 26 while striking out 83.

...Made his Major League debut on Aug. 25 vs. Cleveland, tossing 5 innings of relief and allowing 1 run on 7 hits.

...walked 2 and struck out 1.

...Suffered his first Major League loss on Sept. 10 vs. Minnesota, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits in 5.1 innings in a 4-2 Kansas City loss.

...set career-highs in both walks (5) and strikeouts (4) in the loss.

...Earned his first Major League win on Sept. 16 at Cleveland, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits through 6 innings.

...walked 1 and struck out 3 in the Royals 4-3 win.

...Equaled his career-high with 4 strikeouts in his final start on Sept. 27 at Chicago.

2008 Highlights

Recalled for the first time on June 13, making his D-backs debut that night against Kansas City and tossed a scoreless inning of relief to earn his first win of the season.

...Made only 2 appearances for the D-backs before being optioned to Tucson on June 15, going 1-3 with a 5.40 ERA (18 ER in 30.0 IP) over 5 starts from June 19-July 10 for the Sidewinders.

...Strung together back-to-back scoreless starts, going 8.0 scoreless innings on June 30 vs. Fresno and 7.0 scoreless innings on July 5 at Salt Lake City, allowing 4 hits in each start.

...Recalled again on July 19 and appeared in 4 games for the D-backs through Aug. 8, allowing 2 runs over 6.1 innings while striking out 5 and walking 2.

...Struck out 3 over season-high 2.2 innings on Aug. 3 against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

...Optioned to Tucson on Aug. 13 and appeared in only 2 games for the Sidewinders before being recalled for a third stint with the Major League club on Aug. 24.

2009 Highlights

Opened the season with the Major League club for the first time in his career and compiled a 4-6 record and 6.40 ERA (55 ER in 77.1 IP) over 16 appearances (13 starts) in 3 separate stints, having entered the season ranked as the D-backs' eighth-best prospect according to Baseball America.

... Named the organizational Pitcher of the Year for his efforts at Triple-A Reno, going 9-3 with a 3.32 ERA and .239 opponents average in 16 starts.

... In 10 home games (7 starts) this season, went 1-4 with a 9.53 ERA (42 ER in 39.2 IP) and a .333 opponents average (53-for-159).

...in 6 road starts this season, finished 3-2 with a 3.11 ERA (13 ER in 37.2 IP) and a .277 opponents average (41-for-148).

...In 18 games (16 starts) for Triple-A Reno, went 9-3 with a 3.32 ERA (38 ER in 103.0 IP).

...held right-handed hitters to a .228 average (44-for-193) with 23 walks and 46 strikeouts while lefties hit .251 (47-for-187) with 22 walks and 50 strikeouts.

...held opponents to a .085 average with runners in scoring position with 2 outs, surrendering just 4 hits while fanning 12 in 47 at-bats.

... Posted a 15.75 ERA in 3 relief appearances before being optioned to Reno on April 14.

... Part of a combined shutout on May 17 @ Braves, tossing 6.1 scoreless innings.

... Recalled from Reno on May 22 and earned his first win of the season, a 2-1 victory @ A's.

... Posted a 3-2 win on June 1 @ Dodgers, allowing 4 hits over 6.0 scoreless innings, to become the first rookie starter to hold the Dodgers scoreless in a victory at Dodger Stadium since Brandon Webb did it for the D-backs in 2003.

... Hit the 100-pitch mark in a game for the first time in his career on June 20 @ Mariners in a 7-3 loss.

... Optioned to Reno on June 26.

...went 7-1 with a 3.13 ERA (26 ER in 74.2 IP) in 11 starts in his second stint with the Aces, including a 4-game winning streak over 6 starts in which he was 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA (10 ER in 44.0 IP).

... Tossed a complete game shutout on July 31, allowing just 4 hits while striking out 12.

... In July, his 37 strikeouts led the PCL while his 4 wins tied for the league lead.

... His 7.0 scoreless innings on August 10 anchored the combined shutout.

... Recalled from Reno on Aug. 31.

... Collected a career-high 8 strikeouts on Sept. 14 @ Padres.

... Over his final 5 starts from Sept. 8-Oct. 2, tossed 3 quality starts and compiled a 3.52 ERA (12 ER in 30.2 IP) with a .252 opponents average (29-for-115), 13 walks and 27 strikeouts.

... His 7-4 win on Sept. 27 vs. Padres snapped an 8-game winless streak from June 9-Sept. 27.

... Earned a 12-3 victory on a career-high 108 pitches in his final start of the season on Oct. 2 @ Cubs.

07/25/10

Detroit Tigers released RHP Billy Buckner.