Brandon Bantz
Brandon Bantz is an American former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners.
A native of Arlington, Texas, Bantz attended Mansfield High School where he was teammates with Jordan Walden. He played college baseball at Dallas Baptist University. In 2008, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Mariners in the 30th round of the 2009 MLB Draft.
Bantz was called up to the majors for the first time on June 5, 2013. Bantz appeared in one game for the Mariners, starting at catcher in his only appearance. At the plate, he faced Andy Pettitte twice, grounding out once and striking out once before Endy Chávez replaced him as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. Behind the plate, he caught Joe Saunders, Danny Farquhar and Óliver Pérez. He allowed stolen bases to Robinson Canó and Jayson Nix.
Bantz was released by the Mariners on March 27, 2014 and signed as a minor league free agent with the Washington Nationals on April 1, 2014. Washington released Bantz on May 23, 2014 and he was with the Miami Marlins organization in 2015.
