Matt Buschmann

Matthew David Buschmann (born February 13, 1984 in St. Louis, MO) is an American minor league baseball pitcher currently in the Oakland Athletics organization. He plays for the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
Prior to playing professionally, he attended Lafayette High School and then Vanderbilt University, where he was used primarily as a relief pitcher his first three seasons. He was 5-2 with 5 saves and a 3.86 ERA as a freshman at Vanderbilt in 2003, then 8-1 with 2 saves and a 2.84 ERA as a sophomore in 2004. In 2005, he was 4-3 with a 3.47 ERA and a save. In his senior year, 2010, Buschmann was 3-3 with a 4.27 ERA in 7 starts. Overall, he was 20-9 with a 3.50 ERA in 79 games (26 starts) in his four-year collegiate career.
He was drafted in the 15th round of the 2006 amateur draft by the San Diego Padres, was signed by scout Ash Lawson, and began his professional career that year. He split the summer between the Eugene Emeralds and Lake Elsinore Storm, going a combined 4-4 with a 3.19 ERA in 17 games (12 starts). With the Storm again in 2007, he was 12-6 with a 2.89 ERA in 28 games (25 starts). He was California League Post-Season All-Star and earned two Pitcher of the Week honors that season. In 2008, he was 10-6 with a 2.98 ERA in 27 starts for the San Antonio Missions and earned a spot on the Texas League's Mid- and Post-Season All-Star squads. He was, according to The Baseball Cube, the best pitcher in the league that season.
The pitcher dropped to 5-11 with a 5.66 ERA in 35 games (21 starts) in 2009, split between the Missions and Triple-A Portland Beavers. In his first trial at Triple-A, he was 3-10 with a 6.18 ERA. In 2010, Buschmann was 2-6 with a 5.01 ERA in 40 games (9 starts) between the Missions and Beavers. He had 94 strikeouts in 91.2 innings that year, the first time in his career he averaged more than a strikeout per inning. In 2011, he was 12-6 with a 6.16 ERA in 32 games (22 starts) between San Antonio and the Tucson Padres, San Diego's new Triple-A club.
The Washington Nationals selected him in the Double-A portion of the Rule 5 Draft, though the team him to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations in April 2012. He pitched for the Montgomery Biscuits and Triple-A Durham Bulls in 2012 and went 7-8 with a 3.98 ERA in 26 games (24 starts). In May, he earned a Southern League Pitcher of the Week honor. With Montgomery and Durham again in 2013, he went 14-5 with a 2.86 ERA in 29 games (28 starts), striking out 167 batters in 160.2 innings. He became a free-agent following the 2013 campaign and signed with Oakland.
He is married to sportscaster Sara Walsh.

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