Josh Smoker was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft out of Calhoun High School in Calhoun, Georgia, Like so many players his road to the Majors has been a series of ups and downs.In 2008, he underwent surgery on a bone spur in his shoulder. In 2013, Dr. James Andrews performed surgery on him to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum. With his fastball velocity declining, the Nationals organization released him without his ever having played higher than Class A-Advanced After sitting out 2013 while recovering from surgery, Smoker played for the Rockford Aviators of the Frontier League in 2014, where a side session lead him to signing with the New York Mets, He was promoted to the Major Leagues on August 19, 2016 and made his Major league debut that day. He picked up his first Major League win 10 days later after pitching a scoreless tenth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field. He joined Mark and Brett to talk about his road to the majors.
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