By Craig Beilfuss
LocalSportsJournal.com

SPRINGFIELD, IL–Former Montague baseball standout Jacob Buchberger readily admits he’s off to a slow start this season.

Buchberger is beginning his third season in the minor leagues for the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization.

Buchberger,25, is the starting third baseman with the Double AA Springfield Cardinals, a member of the Texas league.

As of April 24, Buchberger was hitting .205 with three home runs and six RBI.

“I’ve gotten off to a slow start,” said Buchberger, who is 6-0, 215 pounds. “I felt like I had a pretty spring. I’ve been pressing a little too much which isn’t a good thing in baseball. Hopefully, I’ll break out of this soon and good things will happen.”

The key is not getting bogged down by everything that’s going on, but remain focused on correcting one thing at a time.

“I’m just trying to focus on one issue at a time,” Buchberger said. “I don’t want to press and create anxiety. I just need to focus on the game and see how things work out.”

(Photo/Springfield Cardinals)

Part of Buchberger’s slow start at the plate in Springfield is that he’s facing much better pitching than at the lower levels of the minor leagues.

“The biggest thing is pitchers at Low A just know how to pitch,” he said. “At high A you get better pitchers. Then at Double AA their stuff gets better. They throw hard and there is good competition up here, but it is a lot of fun.”

Buchberger spent most of the 2022 season with the Peoria Chiefs, a High A affiliate. He played 94 games before finishing the season with Springfield, where he played five games. Between the two clubs, he ended up hitting .267 with 10 home runs and 55 RBI.

During his first season, Buchberger split his playing time between the Palm Beach Cardinals, a Single A affiliate before being called up to Peoria. In 93 games, he batted 275, with three home runs and 39 RBI.

Buchberger was a free agent signee of the Cardinals organization back in 2020 after his playing days at Davenport University. While there, he was named the GLIAC Player of the Year during his junior season. He originally attended Davenport with the idea of being a two-sport athlete (football and baseball) but that all changed after his freshman season when he decided to just concentrate on working on his baseball skills.

But now his total focus is on his current situation and attain some goals he’s set.

(Photo/Springfield Cardinals)

“My goal is to become a better player and a better teammate this summer,” Buchberger said. “If you have a good attitude, you can always become a better player. I’ll put in all the hard work and try to perfect my craft.”

He also was excited that during spring training that his parents were able to pay him a visit. 

Buchberger graduated from Montague in 2016 where he was a three-time all-stater in Division 3 with the Wildcats.

Buchberger had some words of encouragement for young baseball players who have a dream.

“Don’t give up on that dream,” he said. “The more you put in, the more you will get out. God has blessed me with a lot of ability. Everybody goes through slumps. You just have to keep working at it.”

Photos provided by the Springfield Cardinals