Mountains to Motor City: Sammons Journey to the Show

Preface

It’s been a busy summer for Catamount baseball. RHP Jonathan Todd was selected in the 15th round of the 2024 MLB Draft, and two former Catamounts traveling through their respective minor league journeys earned the call to the Big Leagues in LHP Bryan Sammons in Detroit and RHP Zebby Matthews in Minnesota.

As fate would have it, Western Carolina Director of Media Relations – and a lifelong fan of his hometown Detroit Tigers – Greg Hartlage had a pilgrimage to Motown scheduled with plans of watching his beloved Tigers at Comerica Park. His planned trip fortuitously coincided with Sammons’ call to The Show.

On a rainy Friday afternoon from the third-base dugout, Hartlage was able to catch up with Sammons during pregame ahead of a divisional matchup with the Kansas City Royals, coming on the tail end of his first week in the Majors.

Detroit, Mich. – An eighth-round draft pick back in the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft, former Western Carolina left-hander and WCU graduate Bryan Sammons (Wilmington, N.C.) didn’t have the smoothest path in making it to “The Show.” But earlier this summer – on July 29, 2024 – the former Catamount mound standout capped a seven-year journey of perseverance and hard work paid off.

From his beginning low in the minors in Elizabethton, Tenn., in 2017 to being out of the MLB farm system pipeline in 2023, Sammons has made the most of his second chance at chasing every ball player’s dream as he made it to the Big Leagues last month out of the bullpen for the Detroit Tigers. 

Sitting in the dugout at Comerica Park on a rainy pregame afternoon in the Motor City, Sammons reflected and recanted the journey that led him from coastal North Carolina to the rural mountains and then ultimately becoming the 11th former Catamount to play in a Major League baseball game.

This story began back In 2014 when Sammons was on the lookout for his future home to continue his playing career while finding a place to earn an education. It would turn out to be a match made in heaven, traversing the six-hour trek from the coast to the mountains along Interstate 40 to become a Catamount. Sammons longed to play NCAA Division I baseball and wanted to marry that with an interest in engineering as an intended choice of study. As it were, attending a WCU baseball camp ultimately found the best of both worlds for his next steps.

Over the next four seasons, the Wilmington, N.C., native filled the stat sheets during his time with the Catamounts under the tutelage of WCU’s all-time winningest head coach Bobby Moranda, who cut his teeth in the industry as a pitching coach. Sammons tallied 27 career wins from 2014-17, good enough to rank him tied for fourth-most in WCU history with fellow Tiger Jason Beverlin, who pitched seven games combined between the then Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers during the 2002 season. Sammons ranks second in WCU's record books with 57 career starts and 325 career strikeouts. 

Even with all the statistics he collected and the moments and memories that stick with him happen off the diamond, “the camaraderie was super special and everyone in Cullowhee was super-friendly and the brotherhood that was built is something I know I will have for life,” Sammons explained.

Drafted following his fourth collegiate season, Sammons departed Cullowhee to pursue a dream in which he had dreamt since he was four years old and that was to be drafted to an MLB team. His dream became reality with an eighth-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins.

“It was a very special day to receive that phone call and see my name selected. It showed that all of the hard work was worth it,” said Sammons. 

The left-handed hurler found early success in the Twins’ farm system in the summer of 2017 as the southpaw posted a 5-1 record between both Elizabethton (Rookie Level) and Cedar Rapids (Single A) as he totaled 66 punchouts in 50.1 innings allowing just 14 earned runs for a 2.50 earned run average.

“Having the success right out of the gates showed that I belonged, and you can compete at this level and hopefully continue to progress through the ranks,” added Sammons. 

In 2018 and 2019, Sammons saw time at three different levels of minor league baseball which included a 4-0 record during the 2019 season with Fort Myers in Advanced A, but also saw some struggles as in 2018 he recorded just a 1-3 record between Fort Myers and Chattanooga with an earned run average north of eight.

Even with those struggles, Sammons continued to view every day as an opportunity to grow and make the improvements that would allow him to resume the climb. 

“The biggest thing is trying to learn from those struggles and what caused you to have those issues on the field either mechanical or mental and figure out the adjustments needed,” said Sammons. “Once you learn how to adapt to those issues that you have, it’s important to recall that so you’re able to work your way back out of it down the road.”

After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the nation and chased teams from the diamond in 2020, Sammons returned to the Twins organization in both 2021 and 2022, pitching for the Wichita Wind Surge and St. Paul Saints in the double and triple-A leagues. He again returned to form and found success at both levels, striking out 67 in 58.2 innings of work with the Wind Surge.

However, despite his propensity for finding success atop the rubber, Sammons was released by the organization that drafted him in the eighth round in 2017 after the 2022 season. He recalls that even though it was tough to be pushed across the transactions page, it afforded him a fresh start. 

“I felt like I was stuck and needed some new scenery – but I greatly appreciated everything the Twins did for me,” a gracious and overly polite Sammons recalled. 

Fast-forwarding to the spring of 2023, the lefty received his first, second chance as the Houston Astros organization brought the free agent in during Spring Training. Despite feeling as though he had pitched well enough to earn a spot within the franchise’s multi-level roster, Sammons was released before the end of Spring Training leaving him without a baseball home to begin the new season. 

Revigorated rather than defeated, Sammons used the slashing from the roster as a motivating tool longing to climb back on the elevator that is professional baseball. 

“I continued to work hard and take advantage of every opportunity, and it allowed me to take a step back and reset,” said Sammons.

Opportunity again came knocking for the left-hander in late April when the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the independent professional Frontier League inked Sammons to a contract allowing him to get back on a mound and prove he had what it takes to pitch professionally.

“I felt like I had made some adjustments and was throwing the ball better than I had ever thrown it, Sammons remembered his return to the center of the diamond. 

His numbers supported his self-assessment as he made five appearances with four starts going 19.2 innings allowing just five runs and totaling 26 strikeouts for the Honey Hunters.

During his time in Gastonia, he was able to play alongside former major leaguers the likes of Sal Romano (Cincinnati, New York Yankees, Milwaukee), Steven Moya (Detroit), and Sam Freeman (Kansas City, St. Louis, Atlanta, Washington, LA Angels). 

After about a month in independent baseball, Sammons received the comebacker that every cut player hopes to receive – a phone call from the Detroit Tigers that allowed him to climb back into the minor leagues in the Detroit farm system. From there, on the strength of his left arm, he began his second stint in MILB with the Erie (Pa.) Seawolves and Toledo (Ohio) Mud Hens.

Reveling in his new opportunity with a new organization, Sammons continued to embrace the grind that had propelled him from the beach to the mountains and ultimately set him on the path to The Show. He continued looking for every chance to make improvements and develop his craft.

“I continued to grind and learn throughout my time either in independent ball or with the Tigers. I also felt like the different philosophies between Detroit and Minnesota really helped me grow as a professional baseball player and always try to make myself better every day.” 

Sammons made the most of his chances to prove himself for the remainder of 2023 with the Seawolves and Mud Hens, finishing the year with three victories between the two levels with a 4.83 ERA. He totaled 95 combined strikeouts in 82 innings including 69 strikeouts in Toledo.

Flash forward to 2024 and still going to the ballpark every day, Sammons came out of the gates firing in 2024. Back with the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, he posted a 3-1 record over five starts in April, with 18 strikeouts over 22 innings. He lowered his earned run average in May by only allowing seven earned runs over 21 innings with a 1-1 mark. Following a rough June, he rebounded to toss a pair of strong outings in July with Toledo that set the stage for his dream to come true.

On Monday, July 29, and preparing for his scheduled start with the Mud Hens the next evening, Sammons was informed that he was being called to the bigs. And not only was he earning the ticket to Detroit, but he also quite possibly could be activated upon his arrival in Motown.

It’s approximately 57 miles from Toledo to Detroit, skirting the western shores of Lake Erie. But it must have felt like a whirlwind for the minor league veteran bound for the Big-League Clubhouse. After arriving in Detroit, the Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch informed Bryan that he would indeed be activated – and that he was on the scorecard and was going to be counted upon to throw at length on that Monday night against division leader, the Cleveland Guardians.

Meanwhile, as he packed his overnight bag, cleats, and glove, Sammons was able to make a phone call of his own to his biggest fans with the news they had longed to hear since the conclusion of the 2017 MLB Draft. He was going to The Show.

When he told his parents about the call-up and the subsequent possibility of being activated upon his arrival – and that he could see action as early as that night – they immediately sprung into action to play for the 800+ mile trek. Having followed their son throughout his baseball journey they were not missing the culmination of his journey no matter what.

However, no one told the airlines about the magnitude of this day. Trying to get from the Port City to the Motor City – or ILM to DTW – with a hard deadline of game time was proving impossible. Unable to find a flight that would guarantee arrival ahead of the first pitch, the family was back in a familiar place – behind the wheel, on the road, driving towards a diamond.

So, they made the 12+ hour trek from Wilmington to Detroit to be able to see their son pitch at the highest professional level.

“When I heard it was a possibility that I could get activated, my parents looked at flights to come in,” Sammons recounted. “I guess when they looked, there weren’t any that guaranteed they would get here on time. So, they drove 12 hours just so they could be here. It was really special.”

It was a good thing that his parents didn’t fly the friendly skies as both Sammons and his folks didn’t have to wait long on that warm Monday night in Detroit. The left-hander had his number called upon in the opening inning. He quickly retired the lone Guardian he faced in the first to get his pro career off to a great start, becoming the 11th former Catamount to play in the Major Leagues.

Although not the smoothest of nights as he allowed four hits and five runs to first-place Cleveland, he used that grinder’s mentality he learned in Cullowhee as he was able to write history in his Big League debut. Sammons tossed 7.1 innings marking the longest outing by a Tiger in his MLB debut since Andy Van Hekken's shutout of Cleveland on Sept. 3, 2002. It was also the longest outing by a Tigers reliever in his MLB debut since Roger Mason tossed eight innings on Sept. 4, 1984.

Following his debut with the big club, Sammons said that has heard from numerous former teammates and plenty of people going back to his time in Cullowhee congratulating the "Port City Southpaw" on his success. He didn’t have to go far for one of those congratulatory notes as another former Catamount, outfielder Justice Bigbie who ranks 10th in the Detroit farm system, was a teammate of Sammons before the promotion.

Since his debut with the Tigers, Sammons has been able to toe the rubber three more occasions including tossing 1.1 scoreless against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 3, to keep Detroit within striking distance with a 3-1 deficit that allowed the Tigers to comeback in 11 innings. He also tossed 4.1 innings of one-run baseball on Aug. 8, in Seattle where he totaled four strikeouts and was in line for his first MLB victory before the Mariners rallied. Sammons most recent outing came on Aug. 13, in Detroit where he faced the Mariners once again and went 5.2 innings scattering two hits and allowing just one run with four strikeouts as the Tigers used a late rally in extra to down the host Seattle. 

In his three August outings, Sammons has pitched 11.33 innings allowing two earned runs and totaling eight strikeouts with three free passes allowed resulting in a 1.58 ERA for the left-hander. 

Closing the interview as the clouds began to part ahead of a Friday night showdown with the Kansas City Royals, Sammons offered words of wisdom that helped guide him along his path in professional baseball.

“Don’t be afraid to chase your dreams and you’ve got to be willing to work hard,” Sammons imparted. 

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