J. B. Bukauskas

Jacob Allen "J. B." Bukauskas (born October 11, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners. Bukauskas played college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Amateur career
Bukauskas attended Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia. As a freshman, he helped Stone Bridge win both the regular season and district titles. On July 7, 2012, Bukauskas committed to the University of North Carolina, which he considered his "dream school". As a sophomore, he was named first-team All-Met. Bukauskas reclassified during the summer after his sophomore year in order to graduate and attend North Carolina a year early. He was named the 2014 All-Met Baseball Player of the Year after compiling a 7–0 record, striking out 88 batters, and not allowing an earned run during the season. Bukauskas finished his high school career with a 21–3 record, 264 strikeouts, and a 0.88 ERA.

Despite being expected by some to be drafted within the first two rounds of the 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, Bukauskas asked every MLB team not to draft him. He was selected in the 20th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks but did not sign with the club, reaffirming his commitment to North Carolina.

In his freshman year, Bukauskas led the Tar Heels with 14 games started and was part of the weekend rotation. In 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. As a junior, after going 9–0 with a 2.02 ERA during the regular season, he was named ACC Pitcher of the Year and first-team all-American by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.

Houston Astros
The Houston Astros selected Bukauskas with the 15th overall selection in the 2017 MLB draft. He signed with the Astros on July 7, 2017. He was assigned to the Gulf Coast League Astros, and after one scoreless outing for them, was promoted to the Tri-City ValleyCats where he finished the season, posting a 4.50 ERA in six innings pitched.

In 2018, Bukauskas returned to pitch in the GCL and with the ValleyCats along with pitching for the Quad Cities River Bandits, Buies Creek Astros, and the Corpus Christi Hooks, compiling a combined 4–2 record with a 2.14 ERA in 14 starts between the five teams; he missed time during the year due to injury. He returned to Corpus Christi to begin the 2019 season.

Arizona Diamondbacks
The Astros traded Bukauskas, Corbin Martin, Seth Beer, Joshua Rojas, and cash considerations to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Zack Greinke on July 31, 2019. He was assigned to the Jackson Generals and finished the season there. Over 22 games (16 starts) between the two clubs, he went 2–5 with a 5.44 ERA. On November 20, 2020, Bukauskas was added to the 40-man roster.

On April 18, 2021, Bukauskas was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut on April 20 against the Cincinnati Reds, getting Nick Senzel to fly out as the only batter he faced.

On March 19, 2022, it was announced that Bukauskas had suffered a torn teres major muscle and would be out for months. He was activated on July 21 and optioned to the Triple-A Reno Aces. On January 11, 2023, Bukauskas was designated for assignment following the signing of Zach Davies.

Seattle Mariners
On January 17, 2023, Bukauskas was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Mariners. On January 31, Bukauskas was designated for assignment by the Mariners following the waiver claim of Tayler Saucedo. On February 2, he cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.

On April 9, Bukauskas had his contract selected to the active roster after four appearances with Tacoma. He made one appearance for the Mariners, allowing two runs, one earned in an inning of relief work against the Cleveland Guardians. He was designated for assignment on April 14, after Tommy Milone was selected to the roster.

Milwaukee Brewers
On April 18, 2023, Bukauskas was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers and optioned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. After 5 appearances for the Sounds, Bukauskas was recalled to the Brewers on May 16. However, he was placed on the injured list with a cervical strain four days later without appearing in a game for the Brewers. On July 1, Bukauskas was recalled by the Brewers. He made five scoreless appearances for Milwaukee in 2023, striking out six batters in six innings.

Bukauskas was optioned to Triple–A Nashville to begin the 2024 season. He made 6 appearances for Milwaukee before he was placed on the injured list with a lat strain on April 14. Bukauskas was transferred to the 60–day injured list on May 10.

Pitching style
Bukauskas regularly throws a mid-90s fastball and been able to hit 100 miles per hour with it since his last year of high school. He also has a slider that sits in the mid-80s and a changeup in his repertoire.

Personal life
Bukauskas' parents are Ken and Lynn Bukauskas. He majored in communications during his career as a student-athlete at North Carolina. He is of Lithuanian origin.