Bogucki taken by Washington in 8th round
Former Boyertown standout to forgo senior season at UNC
Boyertown’s AJ Bogucki took a gamble on himself a few seasons ago. Looks like it’s paid off. The 6-foot-3 hard-throwing right-hander from the University of North Carolina was selected in the eighth round (No. 244 overall) of the Major League Baseball Draft on Friday night by the Washington Nationals.
Bogucki confirmed that he’ll forgo his senior season with the Tar Heels and sign a minor league contract with Washington.
“There’s a whole lot going through my mind right now,” Bogucki told The Mercury in a telephone interview on Friday night. “It’s not every day you get drafted into the major leagues. I’m ready to start my career.”
Watching the draft stream at his home in Gilbertsville, Bogucki got the word from his advisor that the Nationals were all set to pick him.
“Right as he told me, my name popped up on the screen,” Bogucki added. “My heart was racing.
“There’s a whole lot going through mymind right now. It’s not every day you get drafted into the major leagues. I’m ready to start my career.” – Former Boyertown pitcher A.J. Bogucki after being drafted by the Washington Nationals in the MLB Draft
Everyone was on pins and needles watching, but it happened. Now I don’t need to worry about where I’ll end up. Now my focus is going out and being the best I can be.”
Following his senior season with the Bears in 2013, Bogucki was selected in the 21st round (No. 920 overall) of the draft by the Minnesota Twins. Instead, though, Bogucki elected to play college baseball at North Carolina after receiving offers from over 20 Division I schools.
“For me that was the right decision,” said Bogucki. “I don’t think I was mature enough to play professional baseball as an 18-year-old right out of high school.
“Over the past three seasons, I’ve learned a lot. Being a college baseball player, I dealt with a lot of adversity. Through it all, I learned how to be a better player, a better student and a better person.”
While with the Tar Heels, Bogucki strung together three impressive seasons.
During his collegiate career, the 21-year-old racked up a 3.10 earned-run average and a 113-49 strikeoutwalk ratio across 90-1/3 innings and a 7-7 career record. His best statistical season came this past year, where he boasted a 2.86 ERA and held hitters to just a .212 batting average across 50-1/3 innings before finishing the season 5-5.
While with Boyertown, Bogucki was named the 2012 Mercury All-Area Player of the Year as a junior. He led Boyertown to consecutive Pioneer Athletic Conference titles during the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
As a junior, he posted a 2.67 ERA with 74 strikeouts over 52.1 innings in helping the Bears win their first Pioneer Athletic Conference title since the 2008 season. The following year, he backed it with a 5-2 record to go along with a 1.93 ERA as a senior. That season, he struck out 80 hitters in 58 innings of work. Prior to graduating high school, Bogucki was tabbed as the top player in the state of Pennsylvania as well as the No. 20 right-handed pitcher across the country.