Former Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Gets Called Up for First Time Since 2015

The former Philadelphia Phillies draft selection is set to make his first MLB appearance since the 2015 season.

Mar 19, 2024; Lakeland, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies David Buchanan (52) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the seventh inning at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

One of the best under-the-radar stories in baseball this year is getting a huge development as a former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher is getting called up to MLB for the first time in almost a decade.

The Cincinnati Reds have announced that they are calling up right-handed pitcher David Buchanan, whom they acquired via trade for cash considerations just a few days ago from the Phillies.

Buchanan has sort of always been the same pitcher that he is even now. He throws a fastball that sits around 90, though he has switched to favoring his cutter in recent years. He also has a sinker and changeup. The biggest breaking ball that he has is a curveball, but he doesn't use it very much (about 10% of the time).

Strikeouts aren't his forte, favoring a very high ground ball rate, which has been gotten up to 72.8% in his career.

The Georgia native was a seventh-round selection in the 2010 MLB draft by Philadelphia out of Georgia State University.

He started his baseball career out with a solid stint in the minors and made it the Majors for the first time in 2015.

Over two years on the MLB roster for the Phillies, he had a lackluster 5.01 ERA over 192.1 innings. His sophomore campaign alone saw his ERA jump to 6.99.

He was sent back down to Triple-A for 2016 before being DFA'd and then released at the end of the year. He was unable to find a deal he liked in America, so he began his career overseas.

The right-handed pitcher spent three years playing for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.

He found more success there than he had in America, but it still wasn't overwhelming. He had a 4.07 ERA splitting time both as a starter and out of the bullpen.

Buchanan's comeback story doesn't really get started until he gets to the Korean Baseball Organization where he played for the Samsung Lions.

Over his four years, he averaged an impressive 3.02 ERA and earned two All-Star nods. He led the KBO in wins during the 2021 season where he had 16.

He had a very good 2023, working a 2.54 ERA over 188 innings pitched, proving he still had plenty in the tank.

The now 35-year-old signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia in an effort to make his return to the MLB.

It looks as though the Reds are going to be the ones to give him his first big league appearance in almost 10 years.