Chipola Alum Successful in First Outing

David Buchanan’s journey to the major leagues has been unconventional in certain peoples’ minds. After completing his sophomore season at Chipola College and being drafted by the New York Mets in the 6th round, the right-handed pitcher, Buchanan, surprised many by choosing instead to transfer to Georgia State University.

However, after just one season at Georgia State, Buchanan was drafted again, this time by the Phillies in the seventh round and earned a six-figure singing bonus to boot.

Buchanan reported to the Williamsport Crosscutters, a Phillies’ affiliate in the Class A short-season New York-Penn League, and has made a name for himself since his first start on July 6th.

Although the Crosscutters would eventually lose in 15 innings 3-2, in his first start, Buchanan torched the opponents through four scoreless innings.

Afterwards Buchanan said his focus was to concentrate at the task at hand. “I wanted to go out and challenge the hitters. I threw strikes and forced the batters to put the ball in play to get themselves out.” Combine that outing with his last two and Buchanan has an earned run average of 2.63 with opponents batting less than .240. Buchanan, a graduate of Fayette County High School in Fayetteville, Georgia helped lead Chipola to the NJCAA Region VIII Championship game in 2008 and 2009, with the Indians claiming the championship in 2008.

During his time at Chipola, Buchanan was ranked among the top 40 in the state of Florida by Baseball America and as the 24th top junior college prospect according to Perfect Game USA.

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