Geoff Bramblett enters his first year with the Grizzlies and third season of professional baseball in 2019.

Bramblett, 24, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 30th round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of the University of Alabama. He pitched 2016 and 2017 in the Royals’ system and posted a 4.56 ERA over 130 1/3 professional innings (33 games, 16 starts) before topping out with the Class-A Lexington (Ky.) Legends of the South Atlantic League.

His 2016 season with the Rookie-level Burlington (Tenn.) Royals stands out: 6-1, 2.17 ERA (11 games, 10 starts) — 43 strikeouts against nine walks over 49 2/3 innings.

Before pro ball, Bramblett pitched three seasons at Alabama. The Hoover native went a combined 18-9 with a 3.40 ERA, including a 5-4 record with a 2.99 ERA in his junior season (2016) that earned him a spot on the midseason watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the top college baseball player in the country. He was one of only 60 players named to the list.

Bramblett played football at Locust Fork (Ala.) High School and Hoover (Ala.) High School, where he helped the Buccaneers to a state championship as a senior in 2013. While a junior at Locust Fork in 2012, he threw for 529 yards in a game against Cleburne County — the fourth-highest single-game total in Alabama high school football history. Perhaps most shockingly, Locust Fork lost the game by thirty points, 70-40. Bramblett’s total puts him one yard ahead of Brodie Croyle, who went on to play quarterback for Alabama and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Hoover’s football program is additionally famous for being featured on the MTV reality series Two-A-Days in 2005 and 2006. Bramblett was also an all-county selection in basketball.