In the summer of 2019, pitcher Bradley Hanner was pitching for the Elkton Blue Sox in the Rockingham County Baseball League when he was drafted in the 21st round by the Minnesota Twins following a college season at Patrick & Henry Community College in Martinsville.
Seven years and two weeks later, on Friday, the Orange County native made his Major League debut for the New York Yankees, pitching one inning of relief in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
The unlikely story – he grew up in tiny Rhoadesville – includes going straight from a community college to the minor leagues, while many junior college products transfer to Division I programs in order to improve their draft position.
He once posted an ERA of 7.34 in the minors in 2021 in 26 games, with one start.
And the MLB draft is now just 20 rounds – one round before Hanner was picked.
“I was at my apartment on Friday night in Martinsville, and I was yelling at my TV like I was at the game,” Brandon Nania, the P&HCC head coach, said in a telephone interview on Sunday.
Hanner posted on Instagram: “Hard to put this one into words. I’ve dreamed about playing in the big leagues for as long as I can remember, and after a lot of years, a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of people behind me, I finally got a chance to live it. To my wife, friends, coaches, teammates and everyone who has supported me throughout this journey thank you.”
Nania actually was at the games at Yankee Stadium in person on Wednesday and Thursday after Hanner was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. He didn’t pitch in either game.
Nania and former P&HCC head coach Barry Powell then flew back from New York on Friday – in time to watch the game on TV that night.
“It is awesome for our program,” said Nania, who played at the school. Hanner played for Powell, but has been around the program since he signed a pro contract.
Hanner, who played several years for Elkton, also becomes the fifth alum of the RCBL to play in the Majors this year, and the seventh native of Virginia to make his MLB debut this season.
“I’m not looking down the road,” Hanner, acquired in time to be eligible for the playoffs, told The New York Post. “Like, I’m looking to help this team win, and whatever happens, happens.”
After playing in the minors with the Twins, Hanner was in the Cleveland system. One of his catchers at Triple-A this year was J.C. Escara, who played for the Staunton Braves in the Valley League in 2014, was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles out of Florida International, and made his MLB debut last year with the Yankees.
Hanner, 27, fanned two batters in his first game with the Yankees and gave up a solo homer.
He was signed as a free agent by New York prior to this season, after appearing in the minors for Cleveland in 2025. He had an ERA of 2.10 in 40 games out of the bullpen at Triple-A this year.
He started playing with Elkton in 2016 and the following year had an ERA of 3.13 in 37.2 innings with the Blue Sox. Former Virginia infielder Tanner Morris, who played for Stuarts Draft in the RCBL, was also drafted in 2019 – by the Blue Jays.
Hanner also pitched in two games for Charlottesville in the Valley League in 2018. That makes him ninth player in Tom Sox history to make the Majors.
One other item: he is first Orange County High grad to play and pitch in majors since Chris Haney – who pitched 1991 to 2002 with several clubs.
“His journey from Patrick & Henry to professional baseball and now to the Major Leagues is a great example of what junior college baseball can do for a player,” Nania wrote. “Bradley has continued to earn every opportunity through his work ethic, determination, and belief in himself. To see the first Patrick & Henry baseball player reach the Major Leagues is something our entire program and community can be proud of. We couldn’t be happier for Bradley and his family, and we’re proud to have him represent the PHCC family at the highest level.”
From Elkton to the Majors
Hanner is not the first former Blue Sox pitcher to make The Show: former University of Virginia hurler Michael Schwimer played for Elkton before appearing in the Majors for the Philadelphia Phillies for 47 games in 2011-2012.
Hanner is not an overpowering pitcher.
“Just because a guy doesn’t light up the radar gun doesn’t mean he doesn’t have good stuff,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Wednesday. “There’s a lot of things that make you good or nasty or whatever, not just power.”
“Velo is king now,” Hanner told The Post. “But throwing strikes is also king.”
One other Patrick & Henry Community College alum who played in the pro ranks
According to baseballreference.com, there are seven other players from Patrick & Henry Community College that have played in the minors.
One of them is Waynesboro native Jeremy Fitzgerald, a Stuart Draft star who was drafted out of P&HCC by the Chicago Cubs in 2010 in the 38th round. “We have his picture up on our wall,” Nania said of Fitzgerald.
He didn’t sign, then was drafted two years later by the Atlanta Braves in the 21st round out of Tennessee Wesleyan. The scouting director that year for Atlanta was Tony DeMacio, a former football coach at Staunton Military Academy and the former football and baseball coach and athletic director at Riverheads.
Fitzgerald played for the Danville Braves in 2012 and the following year for Rome and in the Gulf Coast League – he had an ERA of 2.89 in 38 games as a pro.
More RCBL
The other four alums of the RCBL who have played in the big leagues this year are:
- Chase DeLauter (Cleveland) The former JMU star was the RCBL MVP in 2020 with Broadway. The Frederick, Maryland, native played in the postseason for Cleveland last year.
- Brenan Hanifee (Detroit) A right-handed pitcher from Turner Ashby, Harrisonburg native Hanifee broke in with the Tigers in 2023 and appeared in his 100th MLB contest earlier this year. He has been back and forth between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo this year.
- Will Wagner (San Diego Padres) An infielder from Liberty, the son of Hall of Famer Billy Wagner has split time between Triple-A and San Diego this year. He played for Montezuma in 2020 and is a native of Houston.
- Brenton Doyle (Chicago White Sox) The outfielder from Shepherd University, who played for New Market in the RCBL, won a Gold Glove in center in 2023 and 2024 for the Colorado Rockies – who traded him to the White Sox in July. He is from Warrenton.
This is believed to be the first time the RCBL has ever had five of its alums play in the majors in the same season.
Virginia big-leaguers
The first six natives of Virginia to make their MLB debut this season were:
- Trey Gibson (born in Newport News) The pitcher from Grafton High and Liberty University broke in with the Baltimore Orioles on May 3. He has also pitched for the Norfolk Tides.
- Nick Morabito (McLean) The outfielder made his MLB debut with the New York Mets on May 7. His father, Brian, played baseball at JMU.
- TJ Rumfield (Richmond) He broke in with the Rockies on May 17. The Colorado manager is Warren Schaeffer, a former Virginia Tech
- Kahil Watson (Chase City) The outfielder made his debut with Cleveland on June 18. He was the first player born in Chase City to reach the majors in 100 years.
- Garrett Stallings (Chesapeake) A former minor league pitcher with the Orioles, he made it to the top with the Milwaukee Brewers on July 2.
- James Triantos (Fairfax) The infielder got a hit in his first MLB game with the Chicago Cubs on July 25. He became the sixth product of Madison High in Vienna to make the Majors.
Former Twins scout Matt Williams, now an assistant coach at Liberty University, told the AFP that the Minnesota scout that signed Hanner was Ty Dawson, who has been based in North Carolina.
The only player born in Elkton to make the Majors was pitcher Garland Shifflett, who went to Elkton High and pitched in 1957 for the Washington Senators and seven years later for the Minnesota Twins.
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David Driver
