With several years in the minor leagues to his credit, former University of the Pacific baseball player Brett Sullivan ’19 signed a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers and hopes to make the major-league roster for the start of the 2022 season.

That is, if the Major League Baseball labor lockout does not delay the season.

“You keep putting your head down and working hard, and hopefully some good things will happen. I could not be more excited to join the Brewers,” Sullivan said recently from his home in Arizona, where he is working out while Major League Baseball is in a lockout with players that has delayed spring training.  

A product of Lincoln High in Stockton, Sullivan said it was a “simple choice” to enroll at Pacific, where his older brother also played. He believes his experiences at Pacific set the stage for his professional success.

“(Former coach) Ed Sprague believed in me and gave me the chance to play every day. He taught me so much about the game,” Sullivan said.

Both brothers were drafted in 2015—Tyler in the 14th round by the Chicago White Sox and Brett in the 17th round by the Tampa Bay Rays.

“As a 17th rounder in baseball, you have to have a good year or they go to the next guy,” Sullivan explained. “I was blessed to start with that good year to have the coaches look at me, and I got to develop as a hitter.”
 

BACK-TO-BACK JACKS!@Brettsully goes yard to make it 3-0!#BULLieve pic.twitter.com/fzsDVDV0RE

— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) September 24, 2021

Halfway through his first professional season, Tampa Bay officials asked if he ever played catcher (he had for a bit in high school). Sullivan spent the off-season working on the new position.

“My favorite thing is the bond between the catcher and pitcher. There is nothing better when the two of you are in sync,” Sullivan said.

The web site brewcrewball.com, which closely covers the Brewers and their farm system, wrote about Sullivan: “The Brewers couldn’t pass up the defensive versatility and depth that he offers. While he is primarily a catcher and secondarily a third baseman, he can hold down the corners anywhere on the field. It makes sense for the resourceful Brewers to go ahead and put Sullivan on the 40-man roster for the utility he offers.”

Sullivan played the 2016 season with the Class A Bowling Green Hot Rods in Kentucky, where he was the top minor leaguer in the Rays’ system and drove in 81 runs while making the all-star team. The following season, he started with the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs in Florida in Class A-Advanced, then moved up to the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits in Alabama. His 74 RBI between the two levels was second best among Rays minor leaguers. Sullivan played both the 2018 and 2019 seasons with Montgomery. He was seventh in the Southern League in RBI with 65 in 2017 and ranked in the top 10 in both average (.280) and extra-base hits (40) in 2018. 

After minor-league baseball was shut down due to COVID-19 in 2020, Sullivan was invited to spring training and played the 2021 season with the Durham Bulls, the Rays’ Triple-A squad. He had nine home runs and drove in 35 runs.

He then became a free agent and went to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball where he received word from his agent that he had the opportunity to sign with the Brewers. Sullivan rushed to Milwaukee for a physical exam and signed with the Brewers the day before the lockout began. 

“I was in the middle of a (Dominican) game when I found out. The Brewers had one of the best offers, and I thought they were the best fit. It ultimately was an easy decision; it was just nerve-wracking.”

Sullivan hopes to become the first player drafted from Pacific to reach the major leagues since pitcher D.J. Houlton debuted with the Dodgers in 2005.