Bud Norris

David Norris or Bud Norris is a professional baseball player from the United States of America who plays as a pitcher. Norris began his playing career at the San Marin High School where he was an important asset to the Mariners in his four years there. He went on to attend Cal Poly where he played for three seasons before deciding to declare for the MLB Draft.

Norris was picked at 189th overall, by the Houston Astros, at the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft.
Norris joined the Tri City ValleyCats midway through 2006 and was added to their roster for 15 games, winning 2 and losing none at a 3.79 ERA. In 2007, he moved up to the Lexington Legends for 22 games before playing the last game of the season at the A-League with the Salem Avalanche.

In 2008, Norris was pushed up directly to the AA-League without any time at the Advanced A-League with the Avalanche. The move paid off for the Astros as he went on to strike out 84 batters in 80 innings at an ERA of 4.05. Spending the entire year at the Corpus Christi Hooks, Norris moved up to the Round Rock Express and the AAA-League in 2009.

During his time at the Hooks, Norris was named as one of the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars and was also named to the Arizona Fall League All-Prospect Team.

In 19 games for the Express, Norris had pitched in 120 innings, getting a 4-9 record at a 2.63 ERA. His 112 strikeouts were impressive enough to deserve the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year award as well as a call up to the Majors.

The Astros didn’t disappoint. Norris was called up to the Astros for 11 games in the 2009 season and he ended with a 6-3 record and a 4.53 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 55.2 innings pitched. Norris was taken off the roster towards the end of the season as a precaution against a potential injury. His performance ensured that he will be named to the starting rotation of the 2010 roster for the Astros.