The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Bridgewater, NJ – The Somerset Patriots have announced that New Jersey Blasters left-handed pitcher Brandon Leibrandt has had his contract purchased by the Miami Marlins.
He is the first player from the SOMERSET Professional Baseball Series and the New Jersey Blasters to join an MLB organization. The SOMERSET Professional Baseball Series was created by the Somerset Patriots to bring professional baseball back to New Jersey, featuring a 13-game series between the team and the Blasters. Both rosters are comprised of local talent and operated by the Somerset Patriots.
Leibrandt was dominant in his three starts for the Blasters, finishing 1-0 with a league-leading 0.75 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 12 innings pitched. The southpaw tossed five shutout innings and allowed just two hits, one walk and struck out seven in his last start.
“While our main focus of bringing professional baseball back to New Jersey was to honor our commitments to the community, it also serves as an opportunity for some truly talented players to showcase their abilities at a high level,” said Somerset Patriots President/General Manager Patrick McVerry. “We are thrilled for Brandon to be given the well-deserved chance with the Marlins and wish him the very best in his pursuit to make the major leagues.”
Leibrandt was the sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2014 draft out of Florida State University. He last played in 2018 with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he was 4-1 with a 1.42 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 50.2 innings pitched in six starts.
In 2017, Leibrandt split 25 appearances between Double-A and Triple-A and combined for an 11-5 record, 3.62 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 136.2 innings pitched across 25 starts.
The son of former major league left-handed pitcher Charlie Leibrandt has a minor league career 29-15 record with a 2.88 ERA and 313 strikeouts in 400 innings pitched in 86 games.
The Somerset Patriots have brought professional baseball back to New Jersey from Friday, July 17th to Saturday, August 22nd. For more information about the Somerset Patriots and the SOMERSET Professional Baseball Series, please visit www.somersetpatriots.com, follow all of the team’s social media accounts, and download the Somerset Patriots Mobile App.
