Travis Buck

Athletics's 1st round pick in '05 (sandwich comp. pick), Travis Buck's got the name & skills to accelerate his path to the big's in '07. This stud OF has been noted in Oakland's Arizona Fall League news:

Oakland Athletics prospect Travis Buck has been anxiously awaiting his return to the diamond. Out of action with a strained hip flexor and sports hernia, the 22-year-old outfield prospect hasn't stepped to the plate since July 13, when he went 2-for-4 for Double-A Midland against Wichita.

Buck didn't have to wait long to make an impact in his debut with the Phoenix Desert Dogs on Oct. 16. In his first at-bat, he blooped a single and scored on Chip Cannon's home run. An inning later, the 36th overall selection in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft ripped a three-run homer. Buck finished 3-for-6, falling a triple shy of the cycle, in Phoenix's 14-6 victory over the Peoria Seguaros.

Here's how some of Buck's AFL teammates fared from Oct. 11-17 as Phoenix dropped four of its six games.

As a 1st rounder, he should be expected to be put on OAK's 40-man roster next season in '07 and some playing time if A's don't resign Jay Payton in LF or have other OF plans. Buck was given $950K as signing bonus in '05 when drafted, thus, implicitly, OAK has lots of faith and high expectation of this young man. So far, he has excelled in all minor-league levels up to AA. Let's just hope that A's don't trade him away for a free-agent to be somewhere down the road. Travis has shown the potential thus far to be the next Nick Swisher (a 1st rounder, too, in '02).

Batting Statistics

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Org.	Level		Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	DP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2003	Arizona St	NCAA	19		NCAA			66	239	59	78	13	3	4	46	12	2	35	28	11		5	2	9	.326	.432	.456	888	amer-frsh
2004	Arizona St	NCAA	20		NCAA			59	225	64	84	16	1	9	58	13	3	41	34	11		6	3	6	.373	.486	.573	1059	as
2005	Arizona St	NCAA	21		NCAA			67	288	82	110	24	3	6	43	27	9	28	35	6		6	1	5	.382	.446	.549	995	cws-as, as
	Vancouver	Nwest	21	Oak	A-		of	9	36	7	13	1	0	2	9	1	1	5	8	0	0	0	0	3	.361	.439	.556	995
	Kane Cty	Midw	21	Oak	A		of	32	123	17	42	13	0	1	22	3	1	19	19	0	1	1	1	4	.341	.427	.472	899
2006	Stockton	Calif	22	Oak	A+		of	34	126	24	44	17	3	3	26	2	1	14	18	0	0	0	5	3	.349	.400	.603	1003
	Midland	Tex	22	Oak	AA		of	50	212	32	64	22	1	4	22	9	1	22	39	3	1	1	0	5	.302	.376	.472	848
Minor League Totals - 2 Season(s)								125	497	80	163	53	4	10	79	15	4	60	84	3	2	2	6	15	.328	.399	.511	910