Kansas City Royals: Prospect Q&A pitcher Brandon Marklund

Brandon Marklund had an amazing journey to the Kansas City Royals and was terrific this season. I had a chance to catch up with him.

Originally from North Vancouver, Brandon Marklund played his college ball at Bryan College. He went undrafted and made his way to the Kansas City Royals via the Australian Baseball League. In his first season within the organization, Marklund made 24 appearances out of the bullpen for Single-A Lexington and spun a ridiculous 0.46 ERA in 39.1 innings of work.

He showed the ability to work multiple innings and allowed opponents to bat just 0.162 off him while converting 6 saves in 7 opportunities. Marklund was a critical piece in Lexington’s championship run this season, collecting 3 saves while allowing opponents to bat just 0.069 off him. I had the chance to catch up with him.

Q: Being from North Vancouver, what ultimately led you to play your college ball at Bryan College in Tennessee?

A: During the fall of my senior year of High School, I was named to Team British Columbia for the inaugural Tournament 12 (T12). This tournament was designed by the Blue Jays Baseball Academy and Roberto Alomar to give the top 150 amateur baseball players in Canada a chance to showcase themselves to Major League Scouts and College coaches. I threw on the first day of the tournament where pitching coach, Clint McAuley, from Bryan College saw me pitch. He contacted one of my Team BC coaches and we stayed in contact throughout my senior year.

A couple of months later I went down for a visit to Bryan and I knew immediately that it was where I wanted to spend my college career. The coaches, current players, and the school faculty and staff were more than welcoming and encouraging. As well, the baseball program was designed in a way where I knew I could flourish developmentally as a pitcher. It was a perfect fit on all fronts.