Episode 173: Brandyn Garcia (Mariners Prospect)

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[00:00:59] Welcome to Episode number 173 of the Marine Layer Podcast. We welcome on Mariners pitching prospect and co-minor-league pitcher of the year, Brandon Garcia, on with us.

[00:01:10] We chat with him about winning the Mariners minor league pitcher of the year alongside Michael Morales. His journey to the Mariners. He's got a pretty crazy story of where he went to college and then getting up to the Mariners through an 11th round pick in the 2023 draft and his life outside of baseball.

[00:01:40] And then follow us on social media. We're on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube shorts at Marine Layer Pod.

[00:01:46] Let's get it rolling.

[00:02:00] And we welcome you to this episode of the Marine Layer Podcast, part of the Just Baseball Podcast Network, recording on Monday evening, October 14th.

[00:02:10] I'm going to start this episode by asking you a simple question.

[00:02:13] Would you like the good news or would you like the bad news?

[00:02:19] Let's go with the good news first.

[00:02:20] The good news is that our playoff formula for who we want to win and how it influences the Mariners is going fantastic.

[00:02:30] Of the Final Four, Lyle, we have three $300 million payrolls.

[00:02:36] That's great.

[00:02:37] The Yankees, the Mets, the Dodgers, the Guardians are the only team who aren't a $300 million team among the Final Four teams in these playoffs.

[00:02:47] That is amazing news for this podcast.

[00:02:52] Oh, that's super weird.

[00:02:53] I thought spending money wasn't a smart strategy.

[00:02:55] Oh, wait.

[00:02:55] Not I thought.

[00:02:56] It's not.

[00:02:57] We were told so.

[00:02:59] Hey, well, look, Lyle, the Tigers almost made it to the ALCS.

[00:03:02] That means it must be smart strategy.

[00:03:05] I was thinking about this and just going back and thinking through some of the World Series winners.

[00:03:11] Yes, do some low payroll teams get to the playoffs?

[00:03:15] But look at all the teams that win the World Series.

[00:03:18] Everybody says, oh, well, if you just get into the playoffs, you could make a run.

[00:03:22] No.

[00:03:23] Rangers won it last year.

[00:03:24] Astros won in 22.

[00:03:26] Braves won in 21.

[00:03:27] Dodgers won in 20.

[00:03:29] Nationals with a real payroll won in 19.

[00:03:31] Red Sox won in 18.

[00:03:32] Astros won in 17.

[00:03:33] Cubs won in 16.

[00:03:35] List goes on.

[00:03:36] Those teams all spend.

[00:03:37] It took until the Royals in 2015 to have a small payroll.

[00:03:42] Yeah.

[00:03:44] Well, it's almost like that was an outlier.

[00:03:46] And usually the trend is you have to have good players on your roster and pay them to actually win a title.

[00:03:54] Jim, that's just me.

[00:03:56] But I thought it wasn't a good strategy.

[00:03:58] Oh, it's not.

[00:03:59] Sorry, I almost forgot.

[00:04:00] I almost forgot.

[00:04:01] It's not a good strategy.

[00:04:02] You can't pay good players.

[00:04:04] No, you can't.

[00:04:05] I will say, again, the World Series matchup, but payroll aside, the World Series matchup is going to be fantastic.

[00:04:12] Well, there's storylines every direction.

[00:04:15] Even if you get the lowliest of the matchups, if a such thing exists of the four remaining, which would be Mets-Guardians,

[00:04:21] there's a huge story there about Lindor playing in the World Series against his former team.

[00:04:25] Yeah.

[00:04:26] What would the storyline be for Guardians-Dodgers?

[00:04:29] Would there be one?

[00:04:31] Hmm.

[00:04:32] Yeah, maybe not.

[00:04:33] Maybe there wouldn't be enough of one there.

[00:04:35] Jose Ramirez playing against his future team when the Dodgers trade for him and add on to his extension.

[00:04:43] Yeah.

[00:04:44] Since what they do.

[00:04:45] I heard it's hard to fathom, really, basically how the Dodgers roster is built.

[00:04:53] They definitely have a lot of homegrown players.

[00:04:56] But hearing it just broken down this way, like that the Dodgers' top three players are all stars from other teams that they traded for and then extended.

[00:05:05] But again, Lyle, it's not good strategy.

[00:05:08] Well, they didn't trade for and extend their biggest star.

[00:05:11] They signed him.

[00:05:12] No, they signed him.

[00:05:13] Yeah.

[00:05:15] Correct.

[00:05:15] So just to just to think about that.

[00:05:17] But no, not really too many storylines with that one.

[00:05:20] But it would fit our agenda.

[00:05:22] Mm hmm.

[00:05:22] Mm hmm.

[00:05:23] $300 million needs to win the World Series this year.

[00:05:26] Say that again.

[00:05:27] $300 million needs to win the World Series this year.

[00:05:31] Hmm.

[00:05:32] Do I need to say it louder?

[00:05:34] $300 million needs to win the World Series this year.

[00:05:40] Correct.

[00:05:41] Correct.

[00:05:41] Again, it would just fit along with the trends.

[00:05:43] Look at all those teams I read off.

[00:05:44] All those teams were top 8, 10 in payroll at the very lowest when they won the World Series.

[00:05:50] You have to do that.

[00:05:52] You don't win just skating by like the Royals.

[00:05:55] They were such an outlier.

[00:05:57] Such an outlier.

[00:05:58] Teams are going to say, well, the Rays get to the playoffs.

[00:06:00] The Tigers get to the playoffs.

[00:06:01] The Guardians get to the playoffs.

[00:06:03] Are you trying to win a World Series?

[00:06:05] Or are you trying to just be in the dance?

[00:06:07] Because if you're not serious about winning a World Series, then be honest about that if you're an owner.

[00:06:14] Would you like the bad news now?

[00:06:16] Sure.

[00:06:18] So, friend of the pod, Adam Jude, wrote a wonderful article for the Seattle Times last Friday.

[00:06:23] He broke down a number of things in the article.

[00:06:25] He was talking about how did the Mariners acquire a bat, rehashing through some of the scenarios.

[00:06:31] He also gave a synopsis on the current state of the Mariners' rotation as they head into the offseason.

[00:06:37] And there was one notable nugget that he put in there through some reporting from the Seattle Times.

[00:06:43] And that is, when it comes to Logan Gilbert, that there is...

[00:06:48] Let me make sure I get the wording of this correctly.

[00:06:52] That in terms of an extension for Logan Gilbert, there has been, quote,

[00:06:56] little discussion about a long-term deal between the two sides.

[00:06:59] And, quote, nothing is imminent.

[00:07:02] How do you react to that?

[00:07:05] Sad, but totally unsurprised.

[00:07:09] So, there's a couple ways to think about this.

[00:07:12] It would be nice if Logan Gilbert signed an extension as soon as possible.

[00:07:17] He has three years of arbitration left.

[00:07:20] He is in absolutely no rush to sign an extension, given that he is already under control for three more years.

[00:07:29] I would say there is going to be more pressure, Lyle, starting next offseason when it goes down to two.

[00:07:34] And then it goes down to one.

[00:07:36] Because I would say next offseason, from a trade perspective, would be the last offseason you could get the overwhelming trade haul return for two years of club control of a starting pitcher.

[00:07:49] One year, as we saw with the Corbin Burns trade this year to the Orioles, it's not quite as steep.

[00:07:56] You're not going to get an absolute superstar in return for that.

[00:08:00] But with two years, you might be able to.

[00:08:01] So, next offseason, the pressure will mount a little bit more.

[00:08:06] But, if you sign him to an extension now, it certainly solves a lot of issues into the future when it comes to budgetary reasons.

[00:08:15] So, it certainly raises questions that something like this hasn't even crossed face between these two sides.

[00:08:27] Especially given, we look at some other young players on the Mariners who were high prospects that had extensions given to them.

[00:08:35] So, the Evan White one was first.

[00:08:38] That one didn't work out.

[00:08:40] We know that the Mariners offered Kelnick.

[00:08:42] I think Divich talked about this a lot.

[00:08:44] They offered Kelnick a number of different extensions that he turned down.

[00:08:48] Why would you say he probably should have taken one of those at this point, right?

[00:08:52] At this point? Where he's at right now, yeah.

[00:08:54] Yeah.

[00:08:54] Yeah.

[00:08:55] And then Julio, obviously.

[00:08:58] Who got his extension.

[00:09:00] After only one year in a uniform.

[00:09:01] He could have waited, but he decided not to.

[00:09:04] But it doesn't look like Logan Gilbert is going to sign an extension.

[00:09:09] That things could change this offseason.

[00:09:11] But right now, it doesn't feel like at this point, this offseason, that is going to happen.

[00:09:17] No.

[00:09:17] And when I say I'm unsurprised by that, it's not a Logan Gilbert thing.

[00:09:21] It's a, the Mariners are likely not offering him fair money if they're offering him an extension at all.

[00:09:28] Because Logan Gilbert on the open market is worth about $30 million a year now.

[00:09:33] He is worth top-end starting pitcher money.

[00:09:36] And if the Mariners aren't going to offer him that, which they should.

[00:09:40] The guy's durable.

[00:09:41] He throws 200 innings.

[00:09:42] He gets better and better every year.

[00:09:44] But if the Mariners aren't going to offer him that, why would him and his agent take that?

[00:09:48] They know what his value is.

[00:09:49] They know where he's heading.

[00:09:50] They know he's probably only going to get better.

[00:09:53] So if they're not going to offer him fair value, why would he sign it?

[00:09:57] Also, some guys just like to get to free agency.

[00:09:59] We don't know if that's the case for sure with Logan or not.

[00:10:02] But when guys are as good as he is, sometimes they want to be able to say,

[00:10:06] I want to see what my market's like out there.

[00:10:08] I've earned that.

[00:10:09] I've gotten toward that.

[00:10:11] I've worked to get here.

[00:10:13] And Logan may want that.

[00:10:15] Just to play devil's advocate,

[00:10:17] Do you think it is still the goal for a lot of players to reach free agency?

[00:10:20] I thought the thing Jack said on Friday really stuck out.

[00:10:23] Where if you are not the cream of the crop,

[00:10:27] and Logan's as close to the cream of the crop when it comes to available pitching as there is.

[00:10:32] But Jack on Friday was running through with us.

[00:10:35] Okay, here are the guys who have no worry in free agency.

[00:10:38] Everyone else?

[00:10:41] Market might not be there.

[00:10:43] There is something said for stability.

[00:10:46] But do you think in three years when Logan hits free agency,

[00:10:50] there's still going to be an avalanche of TV issues in the RSNs?

[00:10:55] TV issues?

[00:10:56] No.

[00:10:57] Available for cash.

[00:10:59] The cash isn't coming back.

[00:11:03] We'll see.

[00:11:04] Teams can make that money back.

[00:11:07] From what?

[00:11:09] Ticket sales.

[00:11:11] You know, attendance.

[00:11:13] Still TV ratings.

[00:11:14] You still make enough money to pay real free agents.

[00:11:17] It's not like they're strapped for cash.

[00:11:19] Yeah, you do.

[00:11:20] But you're not getting the exorbitant, like, subsidized cable numbers.

[00:11:25] Well, that part's true.

[00:11:26] Like the 3 million people that were paying for Root in 2013 when the Mariners bought it.

[00:11:31] They're not getting 3 million cable subscriptions in three years.

[00:11:35] They're not getting 3 million people to watch a regular season game.

[00:11:39] Right?

[00:11:40] Right.

[00:11:41] Okay.

[00:11:41] So, in that case, yes.

[00:11:44] And some players may have changed their philosophy on how they feel about free agency.

[00:11:48] However, if you're Logan Gilbert, I think you know the money you have the chance to get in free agency.

[00:11:53] And if that is his choice and his vision, I don't think all the RSM problems are going to stop him and his agent from saying, yeah, we know when you get the free agency, you're going to make a lot of money.

[00:12:03] Right.

[00:12:04] And let me clarify this.

[00:12:06] Do you think you...

[00:12:07] So, you assume the Mariners have offered him something?

[00:12:09] Because I would imagine they have.

[00:12:12] Yeah.

[00:12:13] Talk about all the other prospects they've offered deals to.

[00:12:16] We've heard them say they've offered those type of deals to a lot of the young prospects.

[00:12:21] Some of them clearly turned it down.

[00:12:23] Kelnick turned it down.

[00:12:25] I'm going to assume...

[00:12:26] We can't know for sure, but I'm going to assume they have offered Logan at least one type of extension, if not multiple.

[00:12:32] And he probably said no.

[00:12:34] Yeah.

[00:12:35] As he should.

[00:12:36] He knows what he's worth.

[00:12:38] Because, yeah.

[00:12:39] Again, if you are not going to offer him $30 million a year if you're the Mariners, why would Logan Gilbert and his agent say yes to that?

[00:12:44] So, this is something to keep an eye on again.

[00:12:46] So, if he doesn't sign an extension this offseason, it's not red alarm alert for next season.

[00:12:52] In fact, really nothing changes.

[00:12:54] It's not going to stress anyone that much.

[00:12:56] Logan's going to get a well-earned raise this offseason in arbitration.

[00:12:59] He'll probably make around $8 to $9 million.

[00:13:01] Next year, that's a very significant increase from the $4 million he made this year.

[00:13:06] I'm sure he'll be quite happy.

[00:13:08] But, again, like you said, he knows his value.

[00:13:10] He will not have a worry pitching into the 2025 season.

[00:13:14] He'll pitch, you know, the full season.

[00:13:17] Hopefully be great.

[00:13:18] Hopefully be healthy.

[00:13:19] And then next offseason is when I think the pressure starts to mount on both sides.

[00:13:25] Whether something gets done or he ends up somewhere else.

[00:13:28] Because I don't think the Mariners are just letting him hit free agency.

[00:13:33] He...

[00:13:33] If Jerry DePoto is still in charge in the 2025-26 offseason,

[00:13:38] if they know for...

[00:13:40] Like, if they've given him a raise of a contract extension and he says no,

[00:13:45] it stinks.

[00:13:46] I don't want to...

[00:13:47] Because I don't want to trade Logan Gilbert, but you almost have to at that point.

[00:13:50] So, we'll see.

[00:13:52] The talks are not off to a hot start.

[00:13:55] No.

[00:13:56] They don't sound like they're off to much of a start at all.

[00:13:58] It doesn't even sound like it's gotten off the ground.

[00:14:00] Right.

[00:14:01] And next offseason would be the real return you would get for him.

[00:14:04] So...

[00:14:04] Mm-hmm.

[00:14:04] It's crucial.

[00:14:05] The next 365 days is very important to that relationship.

[00:14:10] Very important.

[00:14:11] You cannot have Logan Gilbert come away from next season with a sour taste in his mouth.

[00:14:18] Sounds like they should probably make the playoffs.

[00:14:20] They could always sign some bats and get the offense a lot better to help this rotation.

[00:14:24] Oh!

[00:14:24] Sorry, TJ.

[00:14:25] When I do that, I need you to, like, snap your fingers and get me out of the trance.

[00:14:28] I need you to snap my...

[00:14:29] I need you to snap your fingers.

[00:14:31] I need you to tell me to snap out of it.

[00:14:33] I know we're not in person.

[00:14:34] I need you to...

[00:14:35] Like, if we were in person, I'd tell you to slap me across the face and say,

[00:14:37] Lyle, I told you.

[00:14:39] That's not a smart strategy.

[00:14:42] Couldn't have said it any better.

[00:14:45] It's not.

[00:14:46] Is paying pitchers a smart strategy?

[00:14:49] Evidently not.

[00:14:49] They haven't even gotten these extension talks off the ground.

[00:14:53] Well, you would think it would be because they have paid starting pitchers.

[00:14:56] They've paid multiple of them.

[00:14:58] Unfortunately, one of them is traded for Mitch Hanager.

[00:15:01] And the other one might also get traded once there's no trade clause left next offseason.

[00:15:07] In Luis, yeah.

[00:15:08] Yeah.

[00:15:11] Yeah.

[00:15:12] Yeah, the pitching thing's interesting.

[00:15:14] The Mariners, as we know, have a lot of depth pitching-wise in this farm system, like the guy we're about to talk to here coming up.

[00:15:22] But this starting five is the best rotation in baseball right now.

[00:15:27] So when you have a guy like a Logan Gilbert who has truly been an ace in every sense,

[00:15:32] innings pitched, strikeouts, made the all-star game, he's going to finish top 10 in Cy Young voting, we assume.

[00:15:40] Keep those guys around.

[00:15:41] And again, I don't even think this is the best we've seen of Logan Gilbert.

[00:15:44] That guy gets better every year.

[00:15:47] I think he actually has room to still get better.

[00:15:50] And I'm going to quote the great philosopher that is Ryan Davis when it comes to a scenario like this.

[00:16:00] If the Mariners operated like a team that followed common sense, they would pay Logan Gilbert market rate of about $30 million in extension.

[00:16:13] Five years or so, let's say.

[00:16:16] But Lyle, do the Mariners operate with a lot of common sense?

[00:16:21] Well, no.

[00:16:25] So which further leads us to the endorsement of the creation of the position that is vice president of common sense.

[00:16:35] The vice president of common sense is getting an extension done with Logan Gilbert.

[00:16:40] There's only one person served to do that job.

[00:16:43] And it's once he retires from the Seattle Times.

[00:16:46] Yeah.

[00:16:48] I would love to see Divish have conversations with people in Mariners ownership.

[00:16:52] So does that mean when the ownership group meets, Divish gets a seat at the table too?

[00:16:56] Or he'll probably zoom in because he'll be in Montana.

[00:16:58] He doesn't want to come all the way back to Seattle for a meeting like that.

[00:17:02] So he just gets a seat at the table where they start talking about budgets.

[00:17:07] And everyone, like there's people talking over each other and then you just hear on the computer a giant.

[00:17:15] You just see his face.

[00:17:17] He's just like hat backwards in the sweatshirt, in the hoodie, I mean.

[00:17:22] You hear the seal break on the crown bottle.

[00:17:29] Here's what's going to happen.

[00:17:31] Exactly the opposite of everything you guys just said.

[00:17:34] That's what Divish had said.

[00:17:37] All right.

[00:17:38] Let's get you guys to Brandon Garcia.

[00:17:40] Before that, let's take a quick pause.

[00:17:42] We're going to talk to you guys about our friends over at Pogaccia's Pub 85.

[00:17:45] We're going to keep telling you guys all month.

[00:17:47] October is the best month on the sports calendar.

[00:17:49] Why?

[00:17:49] Because all sports are in full swing.

[00:17:51] MLB playoffs, college football, NFL, basketball is about to start.

[00:17:54] Hockey started.

[00:17:56] You got it all.

[00:17:57] And with 20 TVs in a place like Pub 85, you can watch all the sports you want to watch.

[00:18:02] There's also great food.

[00:18:03] There's games like pool, like darts.

[00:18:05] Sports.

[00:18:06] And if you go during happy hour, there's awesome drink specials.

[00:18:08] Those happy hours are Monday through Friday from 2 to 6 p.m.

[00:18:12] Drinks are $3 and $4.

[00:18:14] So all of that, all encompassing, equals a great time with your friends.

[00:18:18] That's over at Pogaccia's Pub 85 in Kirkland.

[00:18:22] So it's good we got Brandon Garcia on.

[00:18:24] You were wonderful enough to make the connection while you were there for the final weekend of the Mariners season when they had the Mariners Awards.

[00:18:31] Brandon won the Mariners co-minor league pitcher of the year alongside Michael Morales.

[00:18:35] So we parlayed that and somehow tricked him into coming onto the podcast.

[00:18:41] He was a fantastic, fantastic guest.

[00:18:44] A fantastic conversation.

[00:18:46] He has a very interesting baseball story of his college path.

[00:18:53] So we'll draw this comparison in the interview, not to spoil it a whole lot, but between him and Logan Evans.

[00:19:00] The two of them, back-to-back picks in the draft in 2023.

[00:19:05] Very similar stories.

[00:19:06] And Brandon understands that.

[00:19:08] And a lot of the same, you know, the same sort of jump from the college level to the professional level for him to break onto the scene.

[00:19:16] This year with the Mariners and end-to-season pitching in AA, he's fantastic.

[00:19:20] He's a very good pitcher as well.

[00:19:22] They vary in a very exciting AA rotation.

[00:19:25] It was really awesome to have him on.

[00:19:29] And by the way, for those who don't know, we'll get into this in the interview, but Brandon and Logan Evans, along with having similar paths so far, the two of them are very, very good friends.

[00:19:40] And we get into that conversation with Brandon.

[00:19:43] He was awesome.

[00:19:44] You said it.

[00:19:44] He was awesome.

[00:19:45] We're rooting for him big time.

[00:19:47] He had a huge year this year in AA.

[00:19:49] I mean, well, well earned that pitcher of the year award.

[00:19:52] And look, I know the Mariners rotation is really good where it's at, but we know you need a lot of pitching over the course of a year.

[00:20:01] And I would say Brandon and Logan both, they are right on that doorstep in 2025.

[00:20:06] So if you want to hear a lot from a guy who very well may be pitching big league innings next year, this is a pretty cool conversation.

[00:20:14] Hopefully you guys enjoy it.

[00:20:15] And speaking of Ryan Divish, he was one of the people floating the idea about Brandon Garcia coming up at the end of the year this year to throw in the Mariners bullpen just as a different look.

[00:20:25] It truly is.

[00:20:25] I recommend before we get to the interview, go check out his delivery.

[00:20:29] We're talking about mid 90s from the left side from a very unique angle.

[00:20:34] It's definitely a different look and something the Mariners value quite a lot.

[00:20:39] To hear more about that, let's get you to the interview with Brandon Garcia.

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[00:21:39] All right, we've got Brandon Garcia, Mariners Minor League Pitcher of the Year on with us, co-pitcher of the year, who's down in Arizona at High Performance Camp.

[00:21:48] Coming off an awesome year, which we'll get to, but I'll just start with this.

[00:21:52] HPC, High Performance Camp, has a treat in you so far?

[00:21:54] Pretty good.

[00:21:55] I just want to start off by saying thank you guys for having me on here.

[00:21:59] But HPC is pretty good.

[00:22:02] Got all the guys here, good group of guys.

[00:22:05] We're coming together, getting really strong, doing everything that the Mariners see fit for each individual.

[00:22:12] And we're all trying our best to throw harder and be better for the Mariners system.

[00:22:18] For all of our listeners who aren't aware of what actually happens at High Performance Camp, is it just you guys lifting for five hours?

[00:22:25] What else goes on?

[00:22:26] So we start our day at 7.30.

[00:22:29] We'll get there and do like a little morning mindset just to get your mental skills dialed in for the day.

[00:22:36] Just get your routine going.

[00:22:38] And then we'll start with like a little conditioning.

[00:22:41] And then we'll go from conditioning to a lift.

[00:22:43] And then we'll usually have a meeting every single day at the end of the day, whether that's between like mental health, mental skills, baseball, like pitching talk, hitting talk.

[00:22:54] Then on the weekends on Saturday, we have community service.

[00:22:58] So we do a community service every weekend.

[00:23:00] And that's always fun to do stuff like that.

[00:23:03] Last weekend we did Miracle League.

[00:23:05] And that's one of my favorite things to do.

[00:23:06] That's always a great experience.

[00:23:08] And just it's good to get out there and just give back to everybody else.

[00:23:13] Yeah, so I saw a bunch of you guys out at that, which is super cool.

[00:23:15] But I'll just follow up with you about it.

[00:23:18] Like what about doing the Miracle League stuff?

[00:23:20] Do you enjoy about it so much?

[00:23:22] I just love seeing that everybody loves baseball.

[00:23:25] Like it doesn't matter where you're from, like or anything like that.

[00:23:28] Like being able to play the game and enjoy the game just it means so much more.

[00:23:34] It was just like fun.

[00:23:35] We did it last year as well.

[00:23:36] I think we did it once in Everett.

[00:23:39] When we go back to Arkansas, I'm making a plan for the group of a group of guys to go out there and do it because they have one in Little Rock as well.

[00:23:47] But it's always just like a fun, fun experience to see.

[00:23:50] Like I've never seen somebody be there and not smile and just like have fun.

[00:23:54] Sometimes the past two years, I've jumped in the mascot suit and it's it's been pretty fun.

[00:23:59] So I've seen like the little kids like they love the mascot.

[00:24:03] So that's just something I wanted to do.

[00:24:05] And just I just love seeing like the kids smile and everything like that.

[00:24:08] Get so excited.

[00:24:10] What are the what are some of the things you have access to at the high performance camp that you felt like really helped you last season?

[00:24:17] You hope that's going to help you with your training in this offseason and then going into next spring that I guess you wouldn't have available to you during the season.

[00:24:24] Yeah. So they say like one of the best ways to train and get yourself better is working with other guys, like having other guys push you and everything like that.

[00:24:34] So that's like one of the main reasons I love going to HPC and doing that is just being around those guys like Logan Evans, Michael Morales, Marcelo Perez.

[00:24:42] Like those are some of the guys I'm closest with.

[00:24:44] But then it's like you have the new draft guys.

[00:24:47] You have some of the old older players.

[00:24:50] Like it's just like getting together with the guys that you're going to be playing with, like for the next few years or from like the next 10 years, because we're all in the mariner system trying to do the same thing.

[00:25:00] So it's just being with them like we all have one goal is everybody's trying to get stronger.

[00:25:04] So it's just like having someone next to you pushing you is just so much better than being at home and doing it by yourself.

[00:25:10] Now, when you're talking about conditioning, since you guys are pros, are we past the running diamonds phase or are we are we talking like it's 745 in the morning?

[00:25:20] Everyone lines up at home plate.

[00:25:22] It's like, all right, you guys got 45 seconds.

[00:25:24] Get back here still.

[00:25:26] It's nothing crazy.

[00:25:28] We have a couple like it pushes you mentally more than physically, but nothing too crazy.

[00:25:33] Like we're not doing polls or anything like that.

[00:25:35] We'll do sprints up a hill and we'll like have a different thing every single day.

[00:25:39] So Mondays we'll do sprints.

[00:25:41] Tuesday we'll do like a bike circuit.

[00:25:44] Thursday is like sled pushes or I think you have sled pushes.

[00:25:49] And then Friday is the hardest one.

[00:25:51] We'll go to the spring trading stadium and we'll do stadium runs.

[00:25:55] So we'll do we'll go up and down the stairs all the way all the way from right field to left field.

[00:26:00] And then we'll do it on the way back.

[00:26:02] So that's the killer day, but nothing too serious.

[00:26:07] I kind of wonder if Luis Castillo influenced that at all.

[00:26:09] So maybe, you know, this Brandon, maybe not.

[00:26:11] But this dude runs stairs like when there's nobody in the ballpark when it's early in the day.

[00:26:16] He'll just run the stairs of the stadium like left and right between starts.

[00:26:20] He's like the dude's a worker.

[00:26:21] I don't know if that was a thing before you got into the system or before Luis Castillo got traded here.

[00:26:26] But hearing you guys say that you run stairs, part of me actually wonders.

[00:26:30] I wonder if he influenced that at all.

[00:26:31] Yeah, I don't know.

[00:26:32] But whatever works for him, I'm going to try it too.

[00:26:35] Okay.

[00:26:36] You mentioned some of the new draft guys are at HPC this this fall.

[00:26:41] Tell me if I'm wrong.

[00:26:42] Durangelo's there, right?

[00:26:43] Yep.

[00:26:44] Have you gotten to see him throw with both hands yet?

[00:26:47] Like, is it crazy?

[00:26:48] I did.

[00:26:48] Yeah.

[00:26:48] So they came out to Arkansas when we were like in our last few weeks there and they did like a little throwing thing.

[00:26:54] It was pretty crazy to watch.

[00:26:56] Him and Sloan, Ryan Sloan came out there and they just did like, like just played catch.

[00:27:03] And just watching him throw with both hands was crazy.

[00:27:06] We were all just sitting there being like, wow, that's double the amount of warmup.

[00:27:10] That's double the amount of like stress on your body.

[00:27:12] But it was just like, it takes like a different athlete to do that.

[00:27:16] Like that's something like if I tried to do that, I would look ridiculous.

[00:27:19] But when he does it, he just looks so athletic and it's just so natural.

[00:27:23] How hard can you throw right-handed?

[00:27:25] I don't know.

[00:27:26] I try to throw right-handed on my off days, but it's not good.

[00:27:30] It's not the best.

[00:27:32] Like you actually like take it seriously trying to throw right-handed.

[00:27:36] I just throw it in when we're doing BP, when we're shacking BP.

[00:27:40] So it's nothing crazy.

[00:27:41] But I bet if I tried to get off the mound, I can get it up to 75, 80.

[00:27:47] Oh.

[00:27:48] That sounds pretty good.

[00:27:50] That's not the best.

[00:27:51] Not Durangelo or Durangelo level, but.

[00:27:55] All right.

[00:27:56] So you won't get drafted, but that's still pretty solid.

[00:27:59] Like if we were to throw our question, we like to ask some of these pitchers out here,

[00:28:03] how many high schoolers could you strike out if you faced, I don't know, 100?

[00:28:06] We might actually be able to say you could do that throwing right-handed at 75.

[00:28:10] Yeah.

[00:28:10] I don't think I'm throwing a strike.

[00:28:12] I might be one every 15 throws as a strike.

[00:28:16] So I don't know if I'm striking out many people.

[00:28:18] Okay.

[00:28:18] Just back them off the plate.

[00:28:20] Yeah, that might work.

[00:28:21] That might work.

[00:28:22] But it sounds like you can actually throw it 60 feet and actually stretch it out a little

[00:28:26] bit right-handed.

[00:28:27] Like for me, if I tried to throw left-handed, I'm not sure I'm getting the ball 10 feet.

[00:28:30] Yeah.

[00:28:31] I mean, I feel like if I practice it enough, I might be good, but not good enough to get

[00:28:35] drafted for sure.

[00:28:37] Okay.

[00:28:37] Okay.

[00:28:38] What do you guys, you mentioned you have all this free time down in Arizona.

[00:28:41] What is a group of minor leaguers doing in their free time in October in Arizona?

[00:28:46] Video games.

[00:28:48] I told Lyle this I wanted to golf every day, but it's been way too hot here to golf.

[00:28:54] So I'm going against my word there, but I will once it gets a little bit colder, like

[00:28:58] I'm going to try to get out there and golf.

[00:29:00] But it's been video games every single day.

[00:29:02] So what are you guys playing?

[00:29:04] I've been playing 2K, a little basketball in there.

[00:29:08] A new Call of Duty comes out soon, so I'm excited for that.

[00:29:12] You should have hit up Kyler Murray.

[00:29:14] Yeah, that would be pretty cool.

[00:29:17] Okay.

[00:29:18] So are you guys playing Madden at all?

[00:29:20] Sorry, not Madden.

[00:29:21] Are you playing the new NCAA football game or does nobody have it?

[00:29:24] We all had it when it came out.

[00:29:26] That was big when we were in Arkansas towards the end of the year.

[00:29:29] We were all playing it on the road, everything like that.

[00:29:32] I haven't played in a while, but I probably should.

[00:29:35] I'll ask some of the guys tomorrow if they want to play against me.

[00:29:39] All right, so that leads into a good talking point here because I'm genuinely curious,

[00:29:44] not just what you do when you have downtime down in Arizona at high performance camp,

[00:29:48] which you were just outlining, but in general when you're not at the field,

[00:29:53] which in the minor leagues isn't that often because sometimes you're traveling on and off day,

[00:29:57] six days a week you're playing.

[00:29:58] But when you have downtime, for you specifically, what do you like to do when baseball's not going on?

[00:30:05] Yeah, I mean those two, just video games and golf.

[00:30:08] Very, very basic.

[00:30:10] I would say video games weighs a lot more.

[00:30:13] It's just something that I love to just play with my friends.

[00:30:16] It's one of those times where I can't talk to my friends that are on the East Coast very much,

[00:30:21] can't see them.

[00:30:22] So just playing video games with them is very, very good for me.

[00:30:25] I just need it to get away from baseball sometimes.

[00:30:28] So what video game then got you into playing?

[00:30:32] That's a tough question.

[00:30:33] I would definitely say Call of Duty when I was younger.

[00:30:36] Which one?

[00:30:36] I was never like a – it was I think the first Black Ops.

[00:30:40] Yeah.

[00:30:40] Yeah.

[00:30:41] Yeah, see, we had some overlap in that then.

[00:30:43] Yeah.

[00:30:44] Same for me.

[00:30:45] I don't – I was never a big sports guy until I think college.

[00:30:49] Just like video games wise, I played like the occasional like bigs on the weed.

[00:30:55] That was huge.

[00:30:57] But I never got into it.

[00:30:59] And then college came around and I started playing the show pretty – like every time it came out, I would get it.

[00:31:04] And then obviously like last year was a big year.

[00:31:07] After being drafted, getting my card in that game was pretty cool.

[00:31:11] That's a pretty cool experience that they do.

[00:31:14] That's it.

[00:31:15] Like so whenever that game comes out, I get my three, four weeks in and then I'll move on to the next game.

[00:31:20] So among the guys you've played with in the minor league system, who's best on the sticks and then who's worst?

[00:31:27] Depends on the game.

[00:31:28] Depends on the game.

[00:31:29] Okay.

[00:31:29] Let's do 2K then.

[00:31:31] 2K sounds like a good medium.

[00:31:33] Yeah.

[00:31:33] There's going to be a common guy here.

[00:31:35] My old teammate now, Ty Cummings, he's really good at video games.

[00:31:41] Me and him, like that's what we do is just play video games together and he's good at everything we play.

[00:31:45] Huh.

[00:31:47] Oh, were you happy with your rating on MLB, the show, when you got it?

[00:31:53] Or were you a little like – were you a little like, oh, they kind of jabbed me?

[00:31:58] I was actually pretty happy because it's a real 99 card is the only card that I saw in there.

[00:32:04] That was just like everybody gets that.

[00:32:06] So when I saw those numbers, I was pretty happy with that.

[00:32:10] I was a little disappointed in the VLO.

[00:32:13] But that's something that I had to improve this year and show them that I can do that.

[00:32:17] But other than that, I was pretty happy with it.

[00:32:21] Brandon, I want to ask you going to T-Mobile Park for the final series of the season.

[00:32:26] What was that experience like?

[00:32:28] What was it like having Lyle stand next to you, sticking her mic in your face while you're trying to get that award there

[00:32:34] and sort of soaking in all of that?

[00:32:36] How did that moment feel for you?

[00:32:38] It felt unreal.

[00:32:39] It was one of those things where it's like that's like the biggest form of accomplishment.

[00:32:46] Not the biggest.

[00:32:47] I would say like obviously playing at T-Mobile like in person would be the biggest form of accomplishment for me

[00:32:53] or winning a World Series.

[00:32:55] But it felt good after this year like going through the tolls of minor league baseball

[00:33:01] and then just being able to be rewarded with that.

[00:33:04] It was truly amazing and something that I will never forget.

[00:33:09] How did you find out you won the award?

[00:33:11] Did somebody call you?

[00:33:12] Did you find out from one of your coaches?

[00:33:14] So they called us when we were on the road going to I think it was the last series of the year.

[00:33:20] They let Mike and I know at like about the same time.

[00:33:24] And then they now sit on the bus as well.

[00:33:26] So that was pretty cool.

[00:33:28] I didn't necessarily expect it.

[00:33:30] Like it wasn't something that I was thinking about or even I didn't even think about like,

[00:33:34] hey, they go to T-Mobile and like do like this big huge deal like celebrating the accomplishments.

[00:33:41] And I just never thought about that.

[00:33:43] And I tried not to think about it until after we were done with playoffs.

[00:33:46] And then it was a really quick turnaround to going from winning the playoffs to going to Seattle.

[00:33:51] So what's the best conversation you had with someone there, whether it be a coach or one of the Mariners themselves?

[00:34:01] I mean, honestly, like I tried to stay away from everybody because I know they still had that final the final games, the final two games.

[00:34:09] So I didn't really necessarily bother so many people because like I know what it like what it takes to perform every day.

[00:34:15] And I know that they're at a higher level than I am.

[00:34:18] So it's like sometimes like I talked to Troy Taylor for a little bit when we went to the locker room.

[00:34:23] So talking to him was pretty cool to see like because he was playing with us in Arkansas and then got sent up.

[00:34:28] Like he's had a crazy story.

[00:34:31] Like I remember last year getting drafted and getting sent to Modesto.

[00:34:36] He was there in Modesto right before I left.

[00:34:38] And then it was like, OK, we played in Everett together and then we played in Arkansas together.

[00:34:43] And then now he's in the big league.

[00:34:45] So it's like just seeing like how he's adjusting and getting the basically like the vibe of what it was like up there.

[00:34:51] It was just like really good to hear.

[00:34:54] OK, I want to circle back to something with you.

[00:34:56] I mean, it kind of ties back to what you were talking about, about playing video games.

[00:35:00] And it also ties back to something that the two of us were talking about when you were here in Seattle, which was you said I actually didn't grow up that big a sports fan, which I was just curious about.

[00:35:11] Like so you said you started playing more video games like sports wise once you got to college.

[00:35:16] But it sounds like you always played sports growing up, but maybe didn't watch them.

[00:35:21] Do I have that right?

[00:35:22] Yeah, you have that pretty right.

[00:35:24] Like I've never like if you asked me any stats about or what happened in like the early 2000s or the 1990s, like I couldn't tell you anything.

[00:35:33] But now like recently since I started playing those games, like the sports games, like I know so many more people.

[00:35:40] Like I know like the random guys and NBA or like the MLB, like it's just those like little things that I didn't get before because I never watched like baseball or never watched anything like so closely.

[00:35:54] Were you guys not a sports family?

[00:35:56] I mean, we've always been fans of everything like growing up.

[00:36:00] Like this is horrible to say, but I was very torn between baseball teams growing like in the beginning, started as a Yankee fan.

[00:36:08] And then like towards when I was like 13, 15 Red Sox fan and then towards my like college days, like then I went back to the Yankees.

[00:36:18] And so like that's like a sin, like you can't do that.

[00:36:21] But it's one of those things where it's like as growing up, like going to games and everything like that.

[00:36:26] I just enjoyed watching games at Yankee Stadium so much more than Fenway.

[00:36:30] I think if there's one state, though, you get an excuse to do that is Connecticut.

[00:36:35] It's split between the two.

[00:36:37] Yeah.

[00:36:37] Like half the state like embraces the Red Sox.

[00:36:41] Half the state embraces the Yankees.

[00:36:42] Now, this is going to be hard because you're a Mariner now and you're going to wear Mariner gear wherever you go as long as you're in this organization.

[00:36:49] But I would say it would be funny if you showed up to Yankee Stadium or Fenway and you were like a half and half jersey and said, well, I've been a fan of both.

[00:36:56] Come on, guys.

[00:36:57] Give me a break.

[00:36:58] I think I would definitely wear a Mariner's jersey if that was the case.

[00:37:01] But I think that would be pretty cool.

[00:37:04] But you're lucky.

[00:37:04] You're bigger than everyone.

[00:37:05] So it doesn't matter.

[00:37:06] They can give you crap.

[00:37:07] But you know that you're bigger than all the people talking crap to you.

[00:37:11] So you're good.

[00:37:12] I guess.

[00:37:13] You mean height wise, right?

[00:37:15] Or whatever?

[00:37:15] Yeah.

[00:37:16] Yeah.

[00:37:16] Yeah.

[00:37:18] I'm sure it does exist out there.

[00:37:20] People with those jerseys and people that probably buy those jerseys are likely trolling, if I had to guess.

[00:37:26] But no, TJ said exactly what I was going to say is Connecticut is the one state where you can get away with that because it is it is actually a split state.

[00:37:34] People are down the middle.

[00:37:35] You find fans of teams or both teams from the state of Connecticut.

[00:37:39] If I had to guess, you probably had friends that grew up both Yankees fans and Red Sox fans, right?

[00:37:44] Yeah.

[00:37:44] It was like a mix.

[00:37:46] Everybody was so torn.

[00:37:48] For me, it takes about an hour and a half to get to Boston and about an hour and a half to get to New York City.

[00:37:53] So it's just all dependent on mostly your parents.

[00:37:58] But it was like if my friends were going to a Red Sox game, like I'm obviously going to be a Red Sox fan if I'm 15 years old.

[00:38:06] And then my roommate in college, his name's Jimmy.

[00:38:10] He was a big Red Sox fan.

[00:38:11] He's like they're a big Boston family.

[00:38:14] So just going to Red Sox games with him, it's like so hard not to be a fan when we're going to games together.

[00:38:20] And it's like he's rooting for them.

[00:38:22] I'm rooting for them.

[00:38:23] It's like, all right, today I'll be a Red Sox fan.

[00:38:26] But then every off day, like I'll be a Yankees fan.

[00:38:29] It's tough.

[00:38:30] I know people are going to hate me for that.

[00:38:32] Well, that's just what comes.

[00:38:34] I think that's what comes with not growing up this like diehard, diehard sports fan is when you're a casual fan, you don't feel.

[00:38:42] I mean, I know you said it's kind of a sin to root for both teams.

[00:38:44] But at the same time, you personally, you probably don't feel that much of a betrayal.

[00:38:48] I guess that's the best word to use it to go back and forth because that's just not how you grew up a fan.

[00:38:54] Yeah, I would agree.

[00:38:55] Okay, last thing for you.

[00:38:56] And I know we want to talk a little bit about your journey here to the Mariners, especially your time in college.

[00:39:01] But did you have a suit already before you showed up to T-Mobile that day or did you have to buy one?

[00:39:07] Yeah, I had one.

[00:39:08] Actually, it was sitting in the back of my truck.

[00:39:10] So I had to get it dry cleaned before I got out there.

[00:39:14] So it was good.

[00:39:15] I always have one in my truck just in case and worked out perfectly.

[00:39:20] It's like keeping your clubs in the car, too.

[00:39:22] Same thing now.

[00:39:24] It's like a salesman.

[00:39:25] You got a suit.

[00:39:26] You got your clubs just in case anything happens and you're always going to be ready.

[00:39:30] I think this would be a good way to tie in to your baseball journey, Brandon.

[00:39:35] If you're not in a sports family, you're not a diehard baseball guy growing up, how did you get to playing?

[00:39:44] It was just one of those things.

[00:39:45] I was never into trucks or cars as a kid.

[00:39:49] It was always just I picked up a baseball, picked up a basketball, and that's what I wanted.

[00:39:55] Ever since I was a little baby, I would only be happy if I had something sports-related in my hands.

[00:40:02] Okay.

[00:40:04] Let's fast forward to your first stop in college.

[00:40:08] When was college baseball a reality for you and why was Quinnipiac the place for you?

[00:40:16] I was never a highly recruited kid out of high school.

[00:40:19] I didn't pitch in high school as much as I do now.

[00:40:25] I would consider myself more of a hitter than a pitcher.

[00:40:30] So I would just go to these showcases up in the Northeast and I would get on the mound and just throw it as hard as I could.

[00:40:37] But at the time, that wasn't hard.

[00:40:39] I was throwing 86 when I was getting recruited.

[00:40:42] So I just had the projectability.

[00:40:46] And those guys at Quinnipiac, Pat Egan, John Delaney, and Corey Keene, those guys all just took a chance on me as a pitcher.

[00:40:54] And I just am forever grateful for that.

[00:40:57] Because one of those things where I never thought I could be a pitcher.

[00:41:00] I just knew that I threw relatively hard from the outfield.

[00:41:05] And they just took a chance.

[00:41:06] And as soon as I got to Quinnipiac, it was one of those things where I was begging and begging them to swing.

[00:41:12] And they were like, no, you can't even touch a fungo bat.

[00:41:15] Like, I couldn't hit fungos to the infielders because they didn't want to put a bat in my hands.

[00:41:20] So I'm glad you say that because I'm looking up your college numbers getting ready for this interview.

[00:41:25] You had one at bat once you got to college.

[00:41:29] It was in the summer ball.

[00:41:30] It was in the Futures League.

[00:41:32] And you can now forever say post-high school you had a 1,000 on base percentage because you won.

[00:41:37] But did they actually let you go up there and say, hey, go do your thing?

[00:41:41] Or did they say do not pick the bat up off your shoulders?

[00:41:43] No, they told me I can hit.

[00:41:45] So the funny story about that is that was my freshman year, I believe.

[00:41:49] That was like right after COVID.

[00:41:50] This is one of the only leagues that we can play in near me.

[00:41:54] So we were just messing around, hitting BP.

[00:41:57] And the coach came up to us and asked us who can hit, like which pitchers want to hit BP.

[00:42:03] And I was like, me.

[00:42:04] Like I hit last year.

[00:42:06] And then so I took a couple rounds in batting practice and I hit a couple out.

[00:42:10] And then that day or I think it was like the next day, the game, like it called for it.

[00:42:15] Like I think we were up by a lot or down by a lot.

[00:42:18] And he just came down to the bullpen and was like, hey, like you getting that bat right here, like get ready to hit.

[00:42:24] So I went up there.

[00:42:26] And of course, the guy walked me.

[00:42:28] Like what?

[00:42:28] He didn't even I think he threw me a strike.

[00:42:30] I had to swing at one strike that wasn't even close.

[00:42:33] But then he just I think he walked me on.

[00:42:36] I think it was five pitches.

[00:42:38] He was scared.

[00:42:39] Yeah, he was scared.

[00:42:41] Have you asked the Mariners if you could pick up a bat?

[00:42:44] No, I'm a lot smarter now.

[00:42:47] I know there's a lot more injury that can come in.

[00:42:50] It does.

[00:42:51] That thought does creep into my head a lot.

[00:42:53] But no, I have not asked.

[00:42:54] Now you could get fellow Aggie alum and pitcher Bryce Miller, who also likes swinging the bat to vouch for you.

[00:43:02] You could you guys could go at it together and almost in like a strategic push to let the pitchers swing more.

[00:43:09] Yeah.

[00:43:10] I mean, that's like one of those things where I think it was my first year draft eligible.

[00:43:16] That was when they changed it to note to everybody has a DH.

[00:43:19] And that was one of those things where I was like, dang, like I wish I wish they didn't change that rule.

[00:43:26] Like I was kind of excited to be able to swing it.

[00:43:30] I don't blame you.

[00:43:31] You know, it's funny.

[00:43:32] It's funny.

[00:43:33] So Bryce's story about him swinging the bat or I guess lack thereof is when he was in double A.

[00:43:40] There's some tick tock video of him hitting a ball out and batting practice and a swing actually looks pretty fluid.

[00:43:46] And it's it's made some circles on social media over the last, I'd say, year or so.

[00:43:51] But similar to you, actually, sorry, dissimilar to you.

[00:43:54] I think he's tried to vouch more for picking up the bat and they wouldn't let him do it.

[00:43:59] So that's that's the other A&M alum trying to try to do his thing and get his way into the box.

[00:44:05] But speaking of A&M, that's where you end up after Quinnipiac, which tell me if I'm wrong.

[00:44:11] I can't really think of two schools that are more on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of just like honestly, like everything.

[00:44:20] So I'm just curious for you as a Northeast guy, you're at Quinnipiac, you transfer.

[00:44:24] How how did you land on A&M of all places?

[00:44:27] I mean, obviously, it's a great baseball school.

[00:44:28] But but yeah, so going into the portal from Quinnipiac, I didn't know what to expect.

[00:44:35] I didn't really expect much.

[00:44:38] I did expect to get some calls just because I was a lefty that did throw pretty hard.

[00:44:44] Like I knew I struggled with walks in my first three years at Quinnipiac.

[00:44:49] But then it was one of those things where A&M called me and just talking to the coaches and everything like that.

[00:44:54] I think those are those are another group of guys that they took a chance on me.

[00:44:57] And I'm once again, forever grateful for those guys.

[00:45:01] It was just like it was a perfect fit.

[00:45:04] Like I wanted to get somewhere warm because playing in Connecticut when it's cold is not fun for anybody, hitters or pitchers.

[00:45:11] So just getting out of getting out of the Northeast was my biggest thing.

[00:45:15] And then just being able to get the chance to go play an SEC ball was was amazing.

[00:45:22] That's something like I will never, ever forget.

[00:45:24] The way that we got treated there was amazing.

[00:45:28] It just everything about it was just like a college baseball players dream come true.

[00:45:34] Can you describe the difference of stepping on the mound in a Quinnipiac game with their crowds and then stepping into an SEC game?

[00:45:42] Yeah.

[00:45:43] So at first it was a big adjustment for me.

[00:45:46] I wasn't I mean, we played a couple of games.

[00:45:49] At Quinnipiac, we played at Mississippi State my freshman year.

[00:45:53] So that was pretty cool.

[00:45:54] I got a little bit of taste of that, but it was like the first opening weekend.

[00:45:57] So there wasn't too many people.

[00:45:58] And then we played my last year there at NC State.

[00:46:03] So that wasn't close to Olsen Field, but it was it was a it was a big adjustment.

[00:46:11] Like just being able to not hear anything that goes on in your head was something that I was not used to at all.

[00:46:17] So just stepping out there was like, whoa, like here we go.

[00:46:22] Like every single day, every single time I got out there.

[00:46:25] What was the place that did that to you?

[00:46:28] It was definitely A&M in the fall.

[00:46:31] Like it was that place is special.

[00:46:33] Like that even in the fall league, like the fall games that we played, like it was packed.

[00:46:37] Like the stadium was loud.

[00:46:39] Everybody was into the games.

[00:46:41] So like the fall is definitely good.

[00:46:42] It gave me that taste of of what the season was going to be like.

[00:46:47] Do you have a favorite SEC stadium you played in aside from A&M?

[00:46:51] I mean, I'm going to have to say Arkansas.

[00:46:53] OK.

[00:46:54] That place was extremely loud.

[00:46:56] That was a good experience.

[00:46:57] Just I'm a big fan of everything like that, where it's like it was so loud, like you can't hear anything.

[00:47:05] Like I love that feeling, like the adrenaline, like it's so easy to get going, so easy to get everything like where you want it to be just because you're not thinking about anything.

[00:47:14] So it's like playing there was just like really cool.

[00:47:17] I think I pitched there twice.

[00:47:20] So that was pretty cool.

[00:47:22] So you get through your 2023 season and the draft comes up.

[00:47:25] How did you at the time feel about your draft stock?

[00:47:29] And when did the Mariners come into the picture?

[00:47:31] Yeah.

[00:47:32] So that was this that past draft was an experience where it was like I'm just letting my agent take over.

[00:47:38] And he was like in in charge of talking to people and everything like that.

[00:47:42] And he did an amazing job with just like keeping me in the loop and everything like that.

[00:47:48] I expected to go in on day two, but it was something where it was like it doesn't really matter to me as long as I was getting what I was asking for and the opportunity to play professional baseball.

[00:47:59] So I didn't care if I went day two, day three.

[00:48:02] Then the Mariners called me right before day three started and they were like, hey, I think I think we're going to take you with our next pick here.

[00:48:09] And then they the round started.

[00:48:13] Then my agent gave me a call.

[00:48:14] He's like, hey, get ready.

[00:48:15] Like, make sure you're watching the draft.

[00:48:17] And then they called and it was it was an experience that was awesome.

[00:48:21] Like my mom, my sister were going crazy.

[00:48:24] And I was just sitting there.

[00:48:25] I was like, whoa, like it finally happened.

[00:48:27] Like it's something I've dreamt about and something I've tried for like three years.

[00:48:31] And it just like finally happened.

[00:48:34] How many people do you have at your draft party that day?

[00:48:37] Or was it just your family?

[00:48:38] Yeah, it was just my mom, my sister and I.

[00:48:40] We were just hanging out.

[00:48:42] And then we got the call and then everything like that.

[00:48:46] And it was pretty cool.

[00:48:46] And then we went back home and had a little draft party type of deal.

[00:48:51] So that was good to see everybody that's a supporter of me.

[00:48:55] So this is always a fun question.

[00:48:57] We've done it with a few guys.

[00:48:58] But before you ever got drafted to the Mariners, how much did you even know about the Mariners

[00:49:04] themselves or the city of Seattle?

[00:49:06] And just for full transparency, we did something like this at the field with Justin Turner this

[00:49:10] year, who's a 15-year veteran in the big leagues.

[00:49:13] And we were asking him what we thought were softball questions about the city because he's

[00:49:17] traveled here a few times and he didn't know anything.

[00:49:20] So to turn it back to you, how much did you even know about the team or the city before

[00:49:23] you were drafted here?

[00:49:25] Absolutely nothing.

[00:49:26] I'm going to be honest with you, nothing at all.

[00:49:29] I still don't know much, even though I played in Everett.

[00:49:33] This is one of the things that I made a pact with myself.

[00:49:37] I told myself I wouldn't go to Seattle until it was my turn to play there.

[00:49:41] So we went to one game.

[00:49:43] It was the beginning of the year.

[00:49:45] We had an off day and they were playing on a Monday.

[00:49:48] So we went there and I was like, OK, this is the last time I'm coming to Seattle until

[00:49:53] it's my turn to go up there and play.

[00:49:55] Just one of those things where I didn't want to, even when my girlfriend came out to visit

[00:50:01] me, I didn't take her to Seattle to do anything fun or anything like that just because I wanted

[00:50:06] to wait until it was my time just for it to be so much more special and mean a lot

[00:50:11] more and give me a little bit more motivation.

[00:50:13] I like that.

[00:50:14] I really like that.

[00:50:16] That's sick.

[00:50:16] I mean, and stick to that.

[00:50:18] I mean, obviously you were there to get the award this year and everything.

[00:50:21] But yeah, I actually love that idea because it's obviously easy if you're right down the

[00:50:26] road in Everett to have an off day and say, oh, well, there's a big city right by us.

[00:50:29] There's probably things to do.

[00:50:30] But that just probably speaks to your mentality as a pitcher and just as a baseball player

[00:50:34] a little bit saying, I know where my goals are.

[00:50:37] I know where I want to get to.

[00:50:39] And it's almost like a wait, not a wait and see, but wait to get your prize type of thing,

[00:50:44] which I like.

[00:50:45] It's cool.

[00:50:45] Yeah.

[00:50:45] And honestly, I've told myself this.

[00:50:47] If it doesn't happen now, I still will go visit Seattle just because they did draft

[00:50:52] me.

[00:50:52] And it is a good experience to go see all that.

[00:50:55] But it is one of those things while I'm still playing, I'm going to stick to that.

[00:50:59] But there's a couple of different ways we can go from here, but I want to want to tie in

[00:51:03] one last question for college before we continue on with this.

[00:51:07] And that is, you know, after your 2022 season at Quinnipiac, I mean, you had a after junior

[00:51:12] season, right?

[00:51:13] So you have a you go in the portal, then you have a seven ERA as a guy pitching at Quinnipiac.

[00:51:19] Have you wrapped your mind around like everything that has happened in the two plus years since

[00:51:26] that point until right now, especially that last weekend at Timo Park?

[00:51:30] Yeah.

[00:51:31] So that's something like my agent and I are so close.

[00:51:34] Like he's seen me grow since my last year at Quinnipiac.

[00:51:38] And he's he keeps me grounded with that all.

[00:51:41] He's like, like, dude, like think about where you were even last year.

[00:51:45] Like, did you think you would be here today?

[00:51:47] And I always say, no, like I can envision it, but I didn't think I would physically like

[00:51:51] actually be there.

[00:51:53] And then he's like, all right, then think about two years ago when you're at

[00:51:55] Quinnipiac.

[00:51:56] Like, do you think that you would be exactly where you are now?

[00:51:58] I was like, no.

[00:52:00] So it's just like one of those things where like I try to stay grounded with that.

[00:52:04] And I try to stay grateful for the things that I do have and the things that I do

[00:52:08] accomplish, even though like my goals are so high and I do want to be one of the

[00:52:13] best pitchers in the nation one day.

[00:52:15] But it's like I still have to be grateful for those things.

[00:52:19] What's that?

[00:52:20] What's the quote?

[00:52:21] I'm going to I'm not I'm going to blank on it a little bit.

[00:52:23] I'm not going to get the words exactly right, but it's you'd envy where your future

[00:52:27] self is in five years.

[00:52:28] Is it something along those lines?

[00:52:30] I think so.

[00:52:31] Yeah.

[00:52:31] Which which speaks exactly to what you're saying, which is which is pretty cool.

[00:52:35] OK, so you get in to the Mariners system and something we've talked to a lot of guys

[00:52:40] about and I'm curious to pick your brain about it a little bit is the Mariners very clearly

[00:52:45] have a reputation for developing pitchers and developing pitchers well.

[00:52:48] And they very clearly have a pretty good blueprint in place for how they do it.

[00:52:52] And what we've taken away from a lot of guys and what we've talked to them about is

[00:52:57] they seem to say that the messaging from the Mariners is to every pitcher.

[00:53:01] They don't come in and tell you we want you to change everything.

[00:53:04] We want you to redo your whole arsenal.

[00:53:06] It's you're here and we brought you here because we like you and we like what you have.

[00:53:11] We just want you to tweak some minor things like throw this pitch more in this counter

[00:53:16] when you're up in the count, do this.

[00:53:17] So for you, like when you have that first sit down meeting with some of the Mariners

[00:53:22] pitching people, what's the message?

[00:53:24] Yeah.

[00:53:25] I mean, like you said, they they basically said like, hey, like you're a great pitcher

[00:53:30] like today, but I think about like what what you're going to do now with us.

[00:53:35] Like they just told me like you got a target down the middle.

[00:53:38] So like this year was a big thing was like, obviously, like we're trying to win our win,

[00:53:43] just win every count.

[00:53:44] So like just like when you're 0's and 1-1's, it's just like the simple baseball things

[00:53:49] that everybody's do like every like ever since you're in high school, like it's just

[00:53:52] something you know you've got to do.

[00:53:54] So they just put the emphasis on that for me, whereas like, OK, just throw the ball down

[00:53:59] the middle and then good things will happen.

[00:54:02] So like that was something I really, really bought into this year.

[00:54:05] It's like I was I tried my hardest every single time to throw the ball down the middle as

[00:54:09] aggressively as possible.

[00:54:11] And like that was one of those things where they that was like the biggest thing.

[00:54:16] They didn't ask me.

[00:54:17] Obviously, they told me after going to Modesto in my first offseason, they wanted me to just

[00:54:22] play around with a sweeper and and everything like that and try to throw my gyro a little

[00:54:28] bit harder.

[00:54:29] But it was just like little tweaks like that where it's like they're not asking me to become

[00:54:33] a whole different pitcher.

[00:54:35] They just want me to be the best at being me, like just doing the things that I do.

[00:54:40] What is the evolution of your arsenal been like?

[00:54:43] Like what was it what was it like at A&M?

[00:54:45] And then how has it evolved in your now year and a half with them with the Mariners?

[00:54:49] Yeah.

[00:54:49] So A&M, I was throwing straight four seam.

[00:54:52] So I was four seam in like a little it was like a mix between a small slider and a sweeper.

[00:54:57] It wasn't truly like considered a sweeper, but it was a bigger slider.

[00:55:02] And then once I got to Seattle, it was they wanted me to go back to my sinker.

[00:55:08] So I threw my sinker a lot more, started getting the feel of that back.

[00:55:13] And then they wanted me to throw my gyro a little bit harder.

[00:55:16] So I started throwing that a lot harder and it became smaller just to like get a pitch

[00:55:21] that moves less in the zone.

[00:55:23] And then they told me to develop a sweeper.

[00:55:25] So then I took the offseason to do that.

[00:55:27] And now that's, I think, one of my best pitches.

[00:55:31] And then a changeup has been something that's like it's just been in my back pocket.

[00:55:35] I'm not I'm not close to the point where, oh, I am close to the point where I can like use it here and there.

[00:55:42] But it's one of those things where they've told me like you don't necessarily need to throw a changeup

[00:55:48] if you have two breaking balls and a sinker.

[00:55:51] Where it's like you have three great pitches already that you've seen success with.

[00:55:56] So just having a changeup is only a plus.

[00:55:58] It's not something where it's like do or die or like you're not going to be a great pitcher

[00:56:03] just because you don't have one.

[00:56:05] So you said now that you're a pro, you know a lot more names.

[00:56:09] You watch a lot more sports.

[00:56:11] Do you have any comps, I would say, for your pitches or pitchers that pitches from pitchers

[00:56:19] that you want to try and like model your stuff after based on, you know, your your physique,

[00:56:26] your velocity, your movement, stuff like that.

[00:56:28] Yeah.

[00:56:29] Yeah.

[00:56:30] So that's something that like honestly of not being a sports fan and like or not being

[00:56:36] like a diehard sports fan and watching baseball so closely, like I use that to my advantage

[00:56:40] because I'm not sitting here comparing my anything to anybody else.

[00:56:46] Where it's just like I'm doing what I try to do best.

[00:56:51] But I have asked that question about my sweeper where it's like who else like throws a sweeper

[00:56:56] like I do from like similar arm angles and everything like that.

[00:56:59] And like one guy was a bummer, Aaron Bummer.

[00:57:03] And then there was one more.

[00:57:06] I'm totally blanking out his name.

[00:57:07] Can I shoot for the moon on one?

[00:57:09] So I was going to say, I'll see TJ up for this because we were talking about this before

[00:57:13] you hopped on and I'll preface it by saying this.

[00:57:16] We're just talking about your arm slot here.

[00:57:18] We're not we're not like putting unfair expectations on you, anything like that.

[00:57:22] It's just the arm slot.

[00:57:23] But TJ said this.

[00:57:25] Randy Johnson.

[00:57:26] I mean, that's a that's something my stepdad has always told me, like ever since I was

[00:57:31] a little kid, he's like, you throw like him.

[00:57:33] And then like nobody else has said that except for him.

[00:57:35] So I've always told him like, yeah, yeah.

[00:57:37] Like, OK, but that's that's a great comp.

[00:57:40] Like, I love that.

[00:57:42] It's a it's it's a good thing to aspire to.

[00:57:44] Now, the comparison games in any industry stinks.

[00:57:48] So I wouldn't I wouldn't say, oh, man, I didn't strike out 400 batters this year.

[00:57:52] Yeah.

[00:57:53] Yeah.

[00:57:54] But like it's hard to ignore.

[00:57:57] I mean, you're tall.

[00:57:58] He's tall.

[00:57:58] You're lefty.

[00:57:59] He's lefty.

[00:58:00] You throw hard.

[00:58:00] He throws hard.

[00:58:02] You both throw fastball sweeper.

[00:58:05] So I mean, I like that.

[00:58:07] That's a that's a good player to be comped to.

[00:58:09] He lives in Arizona, too.

[00:58:10] If you maybe he'll swing by.

[00:58:11] That would be pretty cool.

[00:58:13] Listen, if you shoot to be Randy Johnson and you just slightly miss the bar, I'd say that's

[00:58:18] all right.

[00:58:19] You're probably going to the Hall of Fame.

[00:58:20] I'd still say that's a good year.

[00:58:21] Yeah.

[00:58:22] Or a good career.

[00:58:22] You're probably going to the Hall of Fame if your career goes slightly below Randy Johnson.

[00:58:25] I'll put it like that.

[00:58:26] Yeah.

[00:58:28] So when you're in this double A rotation, which obviously was awesome, you guys end up winning

[00:58:33] a championship.

[00:58:35] But a bunch of really exciting guys that were in the rotation along with you.

[00:58:38] I mean, it was you.

[00:58:39] It was Logan Evans.

[00:58:41] It was Reed Van Scooter, who we've had on the pod.

[00:58:43] It was Danny Warchanski, who I'm pretty sure led double like the Texas League in ERA.

[00:58:48] And then you have Morales, who won co-pitcher of the year with you, along with Juan Mercedes.

[00:58:52] And this is a long roundabout way of me saying that was a really good rotation.

[00:58:57] So who played what role personality wise in that group of guys between all you?

[00:59:04] Because I'm sure you guys spent a lot of time together.

[00:59:08] I would say, honestly, we fed off of each other so well.

[00:59:11] Like we were just like, if we're just talking about the starters wise, like every single

[00:59:16] one of us, just like we got along so well.

[00:59:19] Like there wasn't like one guy you couldn't go up to and talk to, like no matter who you

[00:59:22] were.

[00:59:23] Like I can go talk to Mikey for a whole game.

[00:59:25] Like I can go talk to Juan for a whole game.

[00:59:28] Like talk to Scoot for a whole game.

[00:59:30] Like just one of those things where it's like we have such a good relationship just because

[00:59:35] we're in the dugout all the time together.

[00:59:38] Like not like saying like I'm forced to talk to them, but it's like, yeah, like I'm going

[00:59:44] to have conversations with them like that.

[00:59:45] I don't have with other people because this is all I have is like baseball.

[00:59:51] But from like a performance wise, just being able to like throw next to all those guys where

[00:59:58] it's like, like I think there was a time.

[01:00:01] This was like one of the hardest starts for me.

[01:00:04] It was like I think Mikey went out there and punched out 12 and it was like 10 and three

[01:00:10] or four innings.

[01:00:11] And then it was he finished with 12 and then Logan went the next day and through perfect

[01:00:16] through I think six and then I was just in there.

[01:00:20] This is like when they first put me on the three inning cap towards the end of the year.

[01:00:24] I was like, dang, like I have to punch out nine people in three innings to just top them.

[01:00:29] So it was like it's that's how it was like towards the end of the year is when we got closer

[01:00:34] to playoffs is like just trying to be better than the guy who started before you.

[01:00:39] Obviously, some things happen where like baseball happened.

[01:00:43] And but other than that, I was like you see a guy work and throw a bullpen like it's just

[01:00:48] like a known fact like you're trying to be better than everybody else next to you.

[01:00:52] But it was never like a like a too competitive where like we had like envy towards each other.

[01:00:58] It was always just like a friendly competition and push each other.

[01:01:02] Did you Logan ever talk about the remarkable similarities of you getting to where you both are right

[01:01:08] now in terms of college transfers, back to back draft picks, this massive jump in stuff when you get to the big league,

[01:01:17] when you get into pro ball?

[01:01:19] Have you guys talked about that much at all?

[01:01:21] Yeah, that's something that me and him like we're both grateful for that.

[01:01:25] Like we both like look back on that.

[01:01:27] I think it was a little bit more in spring training and a little bit of last year when we first got there because we both like yeah,

[01:01:35] we both knew coming out of college like we had horrible numbers in college.

[01:01:40] Like and that's why like it's just like you look at what we did since we got to pro ball.

[01:01:45] It's like we both knew like we had it in us.

[01:01:48] It just didn't click like we didn't perform in college like we should have.

[01:01:51] And then now it's just like one of those cool things where it's like you look next like I look over to Logan.

[01:01:57] It's like he's finally doing it, even though I didn't know him in college, but it's like he's doing it.

[01:02:03] So for those who don't know, the two of you are really good friends and you become good friends since you got into the organization.

[01:02:09] And clearly this is something you guys have shared some similarities over is how much you guys have grown as pitchers over the last couple years.

[01:02:16] But what else have you two bonded over and connected over, I guess?

[01:02:22] Yeah.

[01:02:22] So, I mean, me and him have been like really, really close friends since the day I opened that door when we got drafted.

[01:02:29] Like when they put us in the hotels with a random guy like never met him before.

[01:02:34] I open the door.

[01:02:35] It's Logan Evans just sitting there.

[01:02:36] And it's like me and him became best friends the first minute.

[01:02:39] Like it was just like I don't know why or how.

[01:02:42] It's just like we both knew like, all right, this is someone like I can be really, really close with.

[01:02:47] Like this is someone that I could like just be best friends with.

[01:02:51] And then like obviously we have the same like we both love to golf.

[01:02:54] We both love to play video games.

[01:02:56] We both love watching sports.

[01:02:58] It's just like now it's like we have so much in common that we just get along so well.

[01:03:05] So, it's been pretty awesome just to be able to come into a brand new place and just have someone there with you since day one.

[01:03:14] So, then for this offseason, when you're training in Dallas, when you're done with high performance camps, what qualifies as the next step for you?

[01:03:26] I think this goes for everybody, but especially me, a V-level jump.

[01:03:30] Like I want to throw at least two miles per hour harder on average.

[01:03:35] I think that will definitely take my game to the next level.

[01:03:38] And then just making those little jumps.

[01:03:42] Like I'm not looking to make a huge jump and change my whole arsenal or anything like that.

[01:03:48] I'm just trying to make those little jumps, like just getting my breaking stuff in the zone maybe a little bit more, be more consistent with my fastball.

[01:03:57] It's just like the tiny little things, the tiny little adjustments that I think that will be big in the end.

[01:04:04] So, when you say V-level jump, are we talking you sitting 97, 98?

[01:04:09] What is that number?

[01:04:10] I mean, I would love to do that.

[01:04:13] I think more realistically after this offseason, I would like to sit more consistently like 6 to 7.

[01:04:20] Okay.

[01:04:21] And just like have like a 95 be my bottom V-level rather than this year.

[01:04:26] Like I had some games where my bottom V-level was 93.

[01:04:30] And is it an issue of also like keeping that into the sixth inning as well?

[01:04:34] Like get through six and still be sitting 95?

[01:04:37] Yeah, that's actually something that I not experimented with, just figured out about myself this year.

[01:04:43] As the game goes by, like some of my best like velocity pitches were in my last inning of work.

[01:04:51] Because it's like one of those mentality things that I focused on was like as being a reliever in college,

[01:04:58] like I always treated everything as like it was like a close, like the ninth inning.

[01:05:02] So, like when I knew it was getting towards my end, like I would sometimes ask whoever was my pitching coach,

[01:05:08] I'd be like, is this the ninth inning?

[01:05:10] They'd be like, yeah.

[01:05:12] So then I would go out there and treat it like a close and just let it eat.

[01:05:18] And what did you get up to this year?

[01:05:20] Like what did you top out at?

[01:05:21] I want to say 98 at least, maybe 9?

[01:05:23] Yeah, it was a rounded up 98.

[01:05:29] That was my goal this year was to hit 98, like a true 98.

[01:05:32] But I only got, I think it was like a 97.9 something.

[01:05:37] So I didn't quite get it.

[01:05:40] But I think this next year, like that's definitely my goal.

[01:05:44] Well, I think you'll get there.

[01:05:45] You were that close.

[01:05:46] You were a couple of decimals off.

[01:05:48] Seems like a pretty attainable goal for 25.

[01:05:50] So we're looking forward to seeing that.

[01:05:52] We've got what we do with everybody on these interviews is we wrap up with five kind of like fun,

[01:05:58] rapid fire questions just as a way to let some Mariners fans know a little bit more about you.

[01:06:02] So first one we've got for you is your go-to pregame and postgame meal is what?

[01:06:08] Chicken Alfredo.

[01:06:10] Yeah.

[01:06:11] Is that not a little heavy?

[01:06:13] Or are you eating that postgame?

[01:06:15] That's a good postgame or the night before.

[01:06:19] Okay.

[01:06:19] Like night before, like that's my go-to meal.

[01:06:23] That or a good burger will be good too.

[01:06:25] Yep.

[01:06:25] All right.

[01:06:27] I'm just sitting there thinking, I'm like eating chicken Alfredo and then going out there.

[01:06:31] It's like, yep, let's throw six innings.

[01:06:34] Yeah.

[01:06:34] Ooh.

[01:06:35] I'm one of those guys where it's like I don't get anxious before a start.

[01:06:39] Like I know some guys get so anxious that they can't eat before a start.

[01:06:43] I've never been like that.

[01:06:44] So like eating is like one of those things where like I know I need to fuel my body before I go out there and basically deteriorate it.

[01:06:51] So what are you eating then before a start?

[01:06:54] Just whatever the pregame spread is that they give us.

[01:06:58] I don't really have like something that I eat every single time.

[01:07:01] It's just like whatever is out there.

[01:07:03] Did you have a specific thing in college or was that the same thing?

[01:07:06] It was the same thing.

[01:07:07] In college, we got a little spoiled.

[01:07:09] We had Texas Roadhouse before every game.

[01:07:11] So I think that's what set me towards it.

[01:07:14] It's where it's like I didn't get anxious before.

[01:07:16] Like I was eating whatever was there.

[01:07:18] Let me tell you why.

[01:07:19] I'm going to say, Brandon, it's probably a good thing.

[01:07:21] You don't eat like 15 of those rolls with the butter before you go out there.

[01:07:25] Yeah, I love it in my skull.

[01:07:28] I will be very, very interested to ask you after you eventually make your first big league start and say, did you eat before the game?

[01:07:35] Because I know you say you don't get nervous before starts.

[01:07:38] I wonder if that one will be just a little bit different.

[01:07:41] It might be, but I'm going to try my hardest not to make it that different.

[01:07:45] Fair.

[01:07:46] Next question.

[01:07:47] Your three favorite TV shows ever.

[01:07:51] Peaky Blinders is one.

[01:07:55] I would say this is a hard one because that's all I do is watch shows when I'm going to bed.

[01:08:04] You know what was a good one?

[01:08:05] Yellow Jackets.

[01:08:06] That was coming out just watched recently.

[01:08:08] It was pretty good.

[01:08:10] Another one, The Last Dance has to be.

[01:08:13] Oh.

[01:08:14] Yeah.

[01:08:14] That's a classic.

[01:08:15] Yeah.

[01:08:16] I did not hurt the Yellow Jackets though.

[01:08:18] It's pretty good.

[01:08:18] I would recommend it.

[01:08:20] What's it about?

[01:08:21] It's like these.

[01:08:22] I don't want to spoil it for anybody, but it's like basically this soccer team gets trapped in the woods and they got to survive.

[01:08:30] That's basically the summary of it.

[01:08:32] Huh.

[01:08:33] All right.

[01:08:33] Interesting.

[01:08:35] Third question.

[01:08:36] What do you think you would be doing if you weren't playing baseball?

[01:08:40] Probably work in construction somewhere.

[01:08:43] All right.

[01:08:44] Just somewhere on the job.

[01:08:45] Like, I don't know.

[01:08:48] Were you into that stuff like growing up?

[01:08:50] No.

[01:08:50] I just feel like that's one of those things that like I would need to do to keep me busy.

[01:08:54] I don't think I can sit in an office.

[01:08:57] We were always the same way.

[01:08:58] It's funny.

[01:08:59] I remember Blake Bortles saying somewhere the same thing.

[01:09:01] It was like, what do you think you'd do if you weren't playing football?

[01:09:03] I was like, yeah, I'd probably just like be working in construction.

[01:09:06] Yeah.

[01:09:08] Okay.

[01:09:09] So I'm going to see if we can get an answer out of you for this one since, again, didn't grow up watching a ton of sports.

[01:09:16] But your all-time favorite baseball player is who?

[01:09:20] I mean, that's a tough question.

[01:09:22] Since I got to be careful what I say here because I'm going to be honest.

[01:09:29] I was going to say Aaron Judge because that was like the main reason why I started watching the Yankees again.

[01:09:34] But I know that one day I'm going to end up facing him.

[01:09:36] And then, yeah, I'm just going to stick with him then.

[01:09:44] I was going to say we could, if we wanted to go by your fandom, we could do someone like Johnny Damon.

[01:09:48] They noted Red Sox and Yankee.

[01:09:51] Yeah.

[01:09:52] Yeah?

[01:09:52] Yeah, that works.

[01:09:54] Yeah.

[01:09:54] All right.

[01:09:55] I'd say Aaron Judge is a pretty good answer.

[01:09:57] Yeah.

[01:09:57] I mean, yeah.

[01:09:59] Last one for you.

[01:10:00] If you were to make your big league debut today, what would your walkout song be?

[01:10:05] I think it would be something Eminem.

[01:10:09] Okay.

[01:10:10] What did you use this year?

[01:10:11] It was a Kid Cudi song.

[01:10:14] I honestly don't even know what it was called or what it stands for.

[01:10:17] It's just like I think it's an abbreviation.

[01:10:20] I don't even know.

[01:10:21] So I probably should know what it means before I make my walkout song.

[01:10:27] But that's just one of those things.

[01:10:28] I like the song.

[01:10:29] It got me going.

[01:10:30] But Eminem is definitely one of my pre-start songs.

[01:10:34] Like anything Eminem just gets me going.

[01:10:37] Would I imagine it would have to be something besides lose yourself so you're not like rapping while you're trying to warm up?

[01:10:43] I do feel like that's a little distracting.

[01:10:45] Yeah.

[01:10:46] Honestly, it could be that one.

[01:10:48] That one definitely gets me going.

[01:10:52] But I do have to be careful with that because if it was to be my big league debut, Murray can be amped up as it is.

[01:10:58] So I can't be too amped up.

[01:10:59] Yeah.

[01:11:00] What are the other classic pump-up Eminem songs?

[01:11:03] Till I Collapse.

[01:11:04] Like you said, Lose Yourself.

[01:11:06] Yeah.

[01:11:06] Try to think of the others.

[01:11:08] 8 Mile.

[01:11:09] Yeah.

[01:11:10] Okay.

[01:11:10] So you like the classic, like the old school Eminem stuff.

[01:11:13] Yeah.

[01:11:13] Yeah.

[01:11:14] It has to be old school.

[01:11:15] All right.

[01:11:16] Good deal.

[01:11:17] Brandon, this has been a blast.

[01:11:19] Thanks so much for taking the time to hop on with us.

[01:11:21] Hopefully everybody listening got to learn a lot more about you.

[01:11:24] You had an awesome year.

[01:11:25] We know you're going to continue to do much of the same going forward.

[01:11:28] And we're looking forward to rooting you on because you're a bunch of fun to watch and you're a bunch of fun to talk to.

[01:11:33] So thanks again for doing this.

[01:11:35] Yeah.

[01:11:35] Thank you guys for having me.

[01:11:39] Brandon's the man.

[01:11:40] Hopefully you guys enjoyed that conversation.

[01:11:42] Like we said at the start of this thing.

[01:11:44] He is right on the doorstep of the big leagues come 2025.

[01:11:49] I'm sure he's going to be in big league camp.

[01:11:51] I'm sure he's going to turn some heads like he did all of 2024.

[01:11:54] So hopefully you guys got to learn a lot about him.

[01:11:57] And hopefully you guys are as excited as we are to see what he does going forward.

[01:12:00] Because like TJ talked about, that delivery, the stuff he has, it's pretty exciting.

[01:12:06] So we're excited to see what he can do in 2025.

[01:12:08] And obviously we appreciate all the time he gave us.

[01:12:10] With that, that'll just about wrap up this edition of the Marine Layer Podcast.

[01:12:14] You guys know the drill.

[01:12:15] You want to listen to the full form podcast.

[01:12:17] You can do so wherever you get your audio pods.

[01:12:19] Make sure to download.

[01:12:20] Make sure to rate and review five stars.

[01:12:22] If you're watching on YouTube, like, comment, and subscribe.

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[01:12:30] Across Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube Shorts at MarineLayerPod.

[01:12:35] That's TJ.

[01:12:36] I'm Lyle.

[01:12:37] As always, we thank you guys for tuning in.

[01:12:39] Talk to you soon.

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