From Phenom To The Farm

On the latest episode of ‘From Phenom to the Farm’, former big leaguer Cody Decker joins to discuss his career, from UCLA to retirement. He will walk us through how he embraced the fun in baseball throughout the highs and lows of the minor leagues. He’ll talk bad paychecks, waiting for a call that might never come, and perhaps the greatest prank of all-time. 

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Brett Lorin walked onto an Arizona team with College World Series dreams and bountiful talent. Yet he eventually came to the tough conclusion his future -- especially to help his professional aspirations -- would need to be in another program's rotation.

The righty talks navigating the transfer market in college, his seven-year pro career, the frustrations of repeating A-ball, what it's like to be a Rule 5 Draft pick and so much more.

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Brandon Guyer joins the pod to discuss his career arc, which began as a two-sport star in high school. He details his initial struggles at Virginia before blossoming into a UVA Hall of Famer, a winding path through the minors, his penchant for getting hit by pitches as a big leaguer, and what it's like to play in a World Series. Thanks to Brandon for spending the time! You can follow him on Twitter here.

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Fire-balling Carter Capps is mostly known for his unusual hop-step delivery that was later outlawed by MLB. But what's less discussed is his path to pro ball, which began as a Division II catcher before a pitching change unlocked an ascension to the majors. Capps discusses his path, how he became a pitcher, betting on himself in the Cape Cod League, dealing with Tommy John surgery, his funky delivery and so much more.

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Richie Shaffer has experienced the highs. He was a first-round pick, appeared in the Futures Game and played in the College World Series. His first big league hit was a homer. But he's also dealt with the lows -- wrecked confidence in the minors, a roundabout trip to indy ball to rediscover his passion for baseball.

Shaffer joins the pod to talk his journey, plus his newfound pursuits outside of baseball, where he is an avid Twitch streamer and also a sci-fi writer.

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Zack Dodson's 10-year pro career has spanned five countries on three continents. He takes us through the winding journey, beginning with a draft night surprise that landed him in Pittsburgh, how he was conned out of $75,000, coming back to baseball after multiple suspensions and so much more.

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In our latest episode of ‘From Phenom to the Farm’ current Twins outfielder Lane Adams joins to discuss not wanting to give up basketball, steady improvements in short-season, and how things can move quickly in professional baseball. He’ll talk finding the right fit in an organization, life as a big league bench player, and what it’s like to face off against “Mad” Max Scherzer. 

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Nearly every player we've interviewed for this podcast so far has shared a unique draft day story of their own. We’ve compiled a few of their draft day memories to enjoy, as we approach the 2020 MLB Draft.

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The second part of our conversation with Chad Durbin focuses on the struggle of sticking in the big leagues and bouncing from organization to organization. He also discusses how some tough love from his wife led to a much-needed attitude adjustment, what it was like to play on a World Series team, and how he knew it was time to walk away from the game.

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Chad Durbin pitched parts of 14 seasons in the big leagues. But before that, he was a relatively unknown third rounder who jumped directly into professional baseball from high school. Part one of our conversation with Durbin discusses how he was recruited to LSU -- including an impressive recruiting tactic by legendary LSU coach Skip Bertman -- and ultimately chose to go professional right away. We also talk his rise through Kansas City's system, some humorous stories from his time in the lower minors, and his path to becoming a big leaguer.

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