Former Bulldogs catcher Tyler Rando was not among the four Gonzaga players drafted earlier this week, but he quickly found his way into a big league system after his contract was picked up by the Miami Marlins on Thursday.

Rando’s professional career began with the Sioux City Explorers, an independent league team from Iowa. In 15 games Rando hit an astounding .422/.509/.622 with one home run and six RBI, despite being on average 3.5 years younger than his competition.

That was evidently enough for Miami to pick up his contract, something we see a lot more of these days now that the draft has dropped from 40 rounds to 20 rounds in the last two years.

The @SiouxCityXs have transferred the contract of C Tyler Rando (@trando00) to the #Marlins organization.

In 15 games with the Explorers, his first professional experience, the @zagbaseball alum hit .422 (19-for-45) with six doubles.https://t.co/kFUzvbXUUs pic.twitter.com/EQrdj9Ue1Z

— American Association (@AA_Baseball) July 22, 2022

Rando was Gonzaga’s best hitter last year, slashing .315/.400/.532 (all which led the team) along with eight home runs, 37 RBI, and five stolen bases. He hit .307 with a .406 OBP for his three-year career in Spokane, although the power he displayed in 2022 was previously unseen.

Now he’ll get a chance to move up the ranks in Miami, and he becomes the fifth Zag to join a major league organization this offseason.