Some may call it boasting or bragging while others may call it nothing more than just a lucky guess, but whatever you choose to call it, it happened and I did it.

Allow me to explain.

Those who follow this site with any regularity are well aware that in addition to covering the Dodgers, we also cover their minor league affiliates … all of them. This includes coverage of the MLB First-Year Player Draft held each June and, to a lesser extent, the so-called international draft held a month later, although it is not really a formal draft per se. To be fair, much (most) of the minor league stuff that we put out is from Harold Uhlman, our resident minor league expert. But every now and then I’ll stumble across a young Dodger prospect – usually when they make it to Rancho Cucamonga, the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate – because it is located about 45 minutes from Dodger Stadium and about an hour and 45 minutes from my house.

Such was the case with former Dodgers catching prospect Kyle Farmer, whom the Dodgers selected in the eighth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Georgia. I say former catching prospect because this past Friday, July 28, Farmer was called up to the Dodgers as a backup for Dodgers catchers Yasmani Grandal and Austin Barnes. The interesting and perhaps even ironic part is that when drafted, the then 22-year-old Atlanta, Georgia native was actually drafted as a shortstop but was quickly converted to a catcher while with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer Rookie League, Farmer’s first stop in professional baseball.

As you might expect from a kid drafted out of college, Farmer quickly made his way through the Dodgers farm system, spending 2013 in Ogden, 2014 at Low Single-A Great Lakes and High-A Rancho Cucamonga, 2015 at Rancho and Double-A Tulsa, 2016 at Tulsa and 2017 at Triple-A Oklahoma City until his call-up to the Dodgers this past Friday. It was during his time with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes that I met Farmer for the first time and I recognized immediately that he was among the precious few who actually had a legitimate shot at making it to the Bigs.

While with the Quakes, Farmer posted a slash-line of .294 / .356 / .416 for an impressive OPS of .772, not over the top numbers but very good numbers for a young catching prospect. He also threw out 14 of 50 would-be base stealers for a respectable 28 percent caught-stealing rate. But numbers aside, what impressed me most about Kyle Farmer was his demeanor, confidence and the humble way in which he carried himself both on and off the field. Although a fierce competitor, I never saw him have cross words with anyone and he would often stay longer than most to sign autographs for eager and grateful fans. There was just something special about him that you won’t find on any baseball analytics website or in the box scores.

As so often happens, just when you begin to get to know a young (and successful) prospect they get promoted and your direct contact with them lost. In fact, it wasn’t until FanFest 2017 at Dodger Stadium this past January that I met up with Kyle again. You can imagine my shock when he not only recognized me among the scores of media members covering the event but he even remembered my name. Like I said, something special. Fortunately, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi also recognized just how special Farmer was and added him to the their 40-man roster a month earlier to prevent him from being snatched away in the MLB Rule 5 draft, which he absolutely would have been.

Kyle Farmer signing autographs during FanFest 2017 at Dodger Stadium.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Our next meeting was during spring training 2017 where, once again, Farmer immediately recognized and remembered me. This may not seem like a big deal to some but it was huge for this lowly Dodger blogger. Throughout the spring Farmer continued to impress and it became quite apparent that he was very high on the Dodgers radar. I must admit that I was almost giddy when I learned that Farmer ‘got the call’ last Friday informing him that he had been called up to the Dodgers. In fact, Farmer himself was so surprised after receiving the call from Triple-A OKC manager Bill Haselman that he actually called Haselman back a short while later and asked him “Are you sure?” I mean, how can you not absolutely love a guy like that, right?

Farmer getting some pointers from 1981 World Series tri-MVP Steve Yeager and Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal shortly after arriving at Dodger Stadium on Friday afternoon.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

After spending all of Friday evening and Saturday afternoon on the bench in the Dodgers dugout without entering the games, Farmer had his date with destiny – and baseball immortality – on Sunday evening, July 30, 2017.

With the Dodgers trailing their most hated rivals – the San Francisco Giants – 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, 38-year-old / 15-year MLB veteran Chase Utley led off the inning with a pinch-hit infield single to Giants third baseman Connor Gellaspie, the guy responsible for the Giants one run on a solo home run in the top half of the eighth inning. Utley caught the Giants – and perhaps every Dodger fan – completely off guard when he promptly stole second base, which would prove to be a turning point in the game. Utley came around to score when Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig lined a hard single up the middle to tie the game 1-1 and send it into extras.

This is where that ‘I did it’ thing comes into play.

Heading into the 10th inning, the Dodgers had already used Grandal, Utley and Joc Pederson as pinch-hitters, with Utley and Pederson remaining in the game. This left Kyle Farmer, who had not yet had even one major league at-bat since his Friday call-up, as the Dodgers only remaining bench player. As if by divine intervention, I was inspired to post this on Twitter:

This was roughly 45 minutes before Kyle Farmer – in his very first major league plate appearance – did exactly that.

With one out and now trailing 2-1 after the Giants scored in the top of the 11th, Dodgers shortstop and reigning 2016 NL Rookie of the Year Corey Seager doubled to right field, prompting Giants manager Bruce Bochy to wisely intentionally walk Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, the National League’s best hitter. The question now was, would Dodgers manager Dave Roberts allow relief pitcher Pedro Baez to bat for himself or would he have Kyle Farmer pinch-hit for Baez in what was unquestionably the highest pressure situation that Farmer had even been in during his five-year professional career – bar none.

Roberts went with Farmer, who lined a 3-2 / 96-MPH fastball off of Giants right-hander Albert Suarez into the right field corner to score Seager from second base and Turner from first in yet another Dodgers come-from-behind win, their 31st such win of the season and their ninth walk-off win.

“I was just hoping get a good pitch to hit,” said Farmer, with his mom, dad, sister, fiancee and his best friend among the sellout Dodger Stadium crowd of 53,495. “Watching these guys hit the past three games I’ve learned a lot. It’s fun to watch them. I was just trying to put something in the air, hopefully down the line. I did. Just got lucky with a good swing.”

Farmer became the first Dodger in franchise history to have a walk-off hit in his first major league plate appearance. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

“He’s such a good man. The guys were pulling for him,” Roberts said, after the game. “For him to be in that spot, we all love moments. Fans, media, players love big moments. Moments that players are going to remember forever, and Kyle’s going to remember that moment for a long time … forever.”

Was it divine intervention or was it just a lucky guess on my part? You can believe what you want to believe but I know what I believe. As my father often said when I was a youngster, “Good things happen to good people,” and Kyle Farmer is one of the best.

Congrats, my friend.

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Just what kind of a guy is Kyle Farmer? Check this out: