A. J. Puckett

Austin Joseph Puckett (born May 27, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Kansas City Royals' organization. Prior to pitching professionally, Puckett played college baseball for the Pepperdine Waves of Pepperdine University.

Career

Puckett attended De La Salle High School in Concord, California. He played baseball and American football for De La Salle,^[1] pitching for the baseball team and playing quarterback and safety in football.^[2] The Oakland Athletics selected Puckett in the 35th round of the 2013 MLB draft, but he did not sign with Oakland. Puckett then enrolled at Pepperdine University and played college baseball for the Pepperdine Waves. In 2016, his junior year, Puckett pitched  45 ²⁄₃ innings without allowing a run, the third-longest scoreless streak in NCAA Division I history.^[3] He finished his junior year with a 9-3 win-loss record, a 1.27 ERA, and 95 strikeouts to 26 walks in  99 ¹⁄₃ innings. ^[4] Puckett was named a First Team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association,^[5] Baseball America,^[6] and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. He was named a Second Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.^[7]

The Kansas City Royals selected Puckett in the second round, with the 67th overall selection, of the 2016 MLB draft.^[8] He signed with the Royals, receiving a $1.2 signing bonus,^[1][9] and played for the Lexington Legends of the Class A South Atlantic League.^[10]

Personal life

Between his sophomore and junior years of high school, Puckett suffered a brain injury. Doctors put him in a medically induced coma for three days.^[1]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)