Brian Ellington's unconventional journey to "The Show"

Coming out of high school, Brian Ellington was ready to become a Seminole, having committed to the Florida State University. All was looking up for the young pitcher as he was set to pack his bags and head right down the road to wear the garnet and gold until, the young pitcher underwent Tommy John surgery. After the surgery, Ellington went to Community College for two seasons trying to land on his feet and get going after undergoing the rigorous Tommy John procedure.

In his two years of community college, Ellington pitched well and there was renewed hope, but the MLB scouts and Division I schools didn't come knocking. At this point, Brian was ready to throw the towel in on his baseball career and begin pursuing alternative career options until, he stumbled upon West Florida, a school that he found while surfing the web one day. He applied and eventually joined the school's baseball team excelling and eventually earning himself a 16th round selection in the 2012 MLB Draft.

The learning curve was steep, stepping from the Community College and College level into the minors is quite the adjustment for a young player. Ellington had to reinvent himself, change his mechanics completely in order to try and make it in professional baseball. In 2014, The Marlins demoted the young pitcher to the Instructional Leagues, where with some intense coaching and repetition he was able to completely change his throwing mechanics.

2015 has been a year of nothing but good for Brian Ellington. He participated in the 2015 Pan Am Games, representing the United States. Ellington made four appearances in the event, posting a 3.38 ERA in 2 2/3 innings of work.  Three weeks later, Ellington found himself back in Double-A Jacksonville, but after the dominoes fell the correct way, including a one game stint in New Orleans, Brian Ellington got his shot in the big leagues.

Since his call-up, he has seen 5 games, throwing 5.2 innings, and posting a respectable 3.18 ERA. While the future is undoubtedly in question for this young right handed pitcher, one thing is for sure, he earned his way into the majors, and he's going to fight to stay there.