Following his successful year with the Eagles, the Detroit Tigers selected senior pitcher Brandyn Sittinger in the 17th round of the 2016 MLB Draft.  After only a few weeks with the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Class A affiliate of the Tigers, he was moved up to Class A Advanced and is now playing with the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

On Day 3 of the MLB Draft, surrounded by his family as they prepared for his brother’s graduation party, Sittinger got the news that he would soon be packing his bags and beginning his career in professional baseball.

“Excitement and relief were my immediate feelings,” said Sittinger. “After everything I have gone through with being hurt, not having a freshman season, transferring from Marshall to Ashland, not having it happen for me last year; it was so surreal that it was finally over with and now I can finally start my career in baseball.”

Sittinger’s selection by the Tigers marked the second consecutive year an Ashland University pitcher was picked up in the MLB Draft and the eighth overall in AU baseball history. Before the Seattle Mariners selected Ashland Alum Art Warren in 2015, the last time a player was drafted was in 1989.

In 2016, Sittinger paced the pitching staff going 11-0 with a 2.23 ERA in his 13 starts and 14 overall appearances.

Throughout the 88 and 2/3 innings he was on the mound, Sittinger had 131 strikeouts, allowed 65 hits, 27 runs and 40 walks. He also helped lead the team in setting a new single season team record of 444 strikeouts.

“There are not too many other pitchers in the country and in Division II that even compared to Sittinger this year,” said AU pitching coach Aaron Hilt. “I was excited to put his name on the lineup card for the first game knowing we were going to start the season with a win.”

Sittinger began his collegiate baseball journey with Marshall University, a Division I school in West Virginia. He transferred to AU knowing the baseball program would set him up for future success in the sport.

“Ashland gave me my best chance,” said Sittinger. “Coach Schally had a winning program and gave me the confidence I needed to get back at it and Coach Hilt has dealt with the draft process and was extremely helpful with me through it all.”

Although Sittinger was only with the Eagles for two seasons, he made a tremendous impact on the program and will leave big shoes to fill in the future of the Eagle’s pitching staff.

“I was able to get to know Brandyn for two years after he transferred from Marshall,” said Hilt. “He was always doing the right thing. High GPA in the classroom, always in the weight room, came early to practice, and would get extra work in on his own. It is rare to find an athlete with that type of self motivation that strives’ to succeed in all aspects of the game.”

Sittinger claimed numerous honors including three All-American awards, three Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year laurels and three first-team All-Midwest region spots. He was also a finalist for the 2016 Brett Tomko Award for the Division II National Pitcher of the Year as well as earning the GLIAC Pitcher of the Year and GLIAC Pitcher of the Week three times.

Brandyn really stepped it up this year when the team needed him the most,” said Hilt. “With losing Art Warren to the [MLB] draft last season, we really needed a guy to go out there that we could count on winning a ballgame. That was Brandyn and he delivered every time.”

Like most players in their first few months playing in the league, Sittinger’s routine remained consistent; wake up at seven, lift at eight, be on the field by nine, throw a bullpen at 10, play the game, eat, sleep and start over.

This routine he had with the Whitecaps did not last long as he was recently called up to the advanced class A, Lakeland Flying Tigers on July 28.

With the Flying Tigers, Sittinger has appeared in two games, throwing just over three innings of work from the mound. During that time, Sittinger has given just four hits, while striking out four batters as well, good for a 5.04 ERA.

“The coaches do not make you feel special,” said Sittinger. “They don’t bring up how well you are doing to you or in front of anyone. But they do notice.”

Competing to find his place in the minors is a challenge in itself, but one of the hardest parts of playing is combining people from all different countries and cultures.

“The biggest challenge is the language barrier,” said Sittinger. “We weren’t communicating well at first because some of us speak English and the other speak Spanish. But there was a game when we were down and one of the Dominican players got a hit that brought us back. We all charged the field and cheered together. It was that moment that we were brought together. It was a reality check. We are all from different places but we all have the same goals.”

Only two months in, Sittinger maintains high goals for himself and hopes to continue to steadily move up in the league.

“I plan on making the best of the opportunities I have, doing well in this league and keeping myself in A Advanced or continuing to move up,” said Sittinger.