The life of a minor league baseball player is filled with nonstop moves from club to club and no one understands that better than Midland RockHounds’ pitcher Joel Seddon.
Seddon has already played with three different teams this season, with the RockHounds being the latest stop in his tour.
But Seddon is no stranger to the Permian Basin, having played all of last year with the RockHounds before making the jump to the Triple-A level at the start of the 2019 season with Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League.
Recently, he was with the Stockton Ports in the Single-A Advance level before rejoining Midland last Sunday.
“It’s great,” Seddon said. “I’ve been bouncing around teams this year but I just need to keep pitching. I know that a spot will open up, eventually and it’s good to be back.
“I’ve got a lot of friends on the team. We have good guys in the clubhouse and a great coaching staff. The fans are great. It’s good to be back in the loop.”
Seddon has played twice this past week with his recent performance on the mound in Friday’s 1-0 loss against the Corpus Christi Hooks.
“Seddon started the other day and came in for us tonight and did a great job of coming in on Friday night,” RockHounds manager Scott Steinmann said. “He did a good job of shutting down batters and giving us a chance to win.”
Seddon worked three innings after entering the game in the fourth inning in relief of Dalton Jefferies and struck out two batters, including Houston Astros’ 2018 first round draft pick Seth Beer, who was making his debut with the Hooks after being promoted Friday.
“It’s always fun,” Seddon said. “I never got to pitch against (Beer) in college but he’s a good hitter and he’s putting up great numbers. It’s always fun to face some good hitters.”
Despite the loss, Seddon was proud of his performance as well as his other pitchers.
“It was a well-pitched game,” Seddon said. “Dalton set the tone early and found his zone.
“I just wanted to come in and do the same. I had a shaky start with the two walks but I was trying to be a little too fine too early but I was able to attack the zone after that and pitched better. Our defense was great.”
Seddon also played with the RockHounds in 2017, going 3-4 with an ERA of 5.00 and playing 33 total games. He played in 27 games for Midland in 2016.
“He brings us the ability of a veteran pitcher,” Steinmann said. “He’s done the relieving and the starting. I know I can trust him to come out with a baseball and his emotions on the mound. He’s done a great job.
“We want him to do well and succeed and move on. We love it that he’s had some success and we’re looking to continue that with him.”
While Seddon has been going from team to team, he knows that it’s all part of the game.
“Bouncing around, you don’t want to get your head in it too much,” Seddon said.
“You don’t want to lose focus. You can only control what you control. I can control going out and pitching every day, regardless of what uniform I’m wearing.”
Regardless of how long this stop in Midland lasts, he’s making the most of it.
“It hasn’t been too bad,” Seddon said. “I have a lot of friends on this team. It’s good to see them and to get back into Double-A baseball and help this team win.”
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