Brandon Durden

Brandon R. Durden was born July 20, 1984 in Adel, Georgia. He is 6'3", weighing 215 pounds. He is currently a left handed starting pitcher for the Modesto Nuts of the Colorado Rockies' farm system.

High School Career

Brandon attended Cook High School in Adel, Georgia where he was four year varsity letterman under Head Coach Frank Vashaw (1999-2000) and Bob Owsley (2001-2002). While at Cook High, one of the richest programs in the state of Georgia, Durden set many records and was honored for several individual awards. He was a member of the 2000 Class AA Georgia State Championship team as a sophomore, where he was used mainly as a reliever out of the bullpen. In 2001, Durden was a starter pitcher and quickly became one of the Peach State's top pitchers with his large frame and blazing fastball (clocked as high as 92 MPH). Durden finished 2001 with a 4-1 record. In 2002, Durden had an outstanding senior season as he went 9-2 with 3 saves and a microscopic 0.77 ERA. He also struckout 126 batters in 82 innings of work. He also batted .373 with five home runs and 34 RBI. He would help lead his Cook Hornets to a Region Championship. Durden was an All-Area All Star in 2001 and 2002, as well Area Player of the Year in 2002. He was also honored as an All-State pitcher in 2002. Durden played American Legion baseball for Post 182 in Leesburg, GA. Durden won State Player of the Year Award at the State Tournament in Douglasville, GA after throwing a nine inning complete game 4 hitter. Durden was drafted out of high school by the Chicago White Sox (18th pick in the 34th round, 1020 overall) but did not sign, instead he elected to attend college at Georgia College & State University.

Georgia College & State University (College Career)

Durden continued to impress while at GCSU. In 2004, he honored as All Conference in the Peach Belt Conference after going 7-2 with a 2.66 ERA. In 2005, he was drafted again by the Colorado Rockies (7th pick of the 4th round, 117 overall).

Minor Leagues

2005 Casper

Durden started his pro career in 2005 with Casper going 1-4 with a 6.02 ERA (49.1 ip, 33 er) in 12 games. Earned his first win vs Missoula on August 19, 2005.

2006 Asheville Tourists

In 2006 Durden went 10-4 with a 3.64 ERA. He totalled 119 strikeouts in 151 innings of work. Durden was also named South Atlanic League Pitcher of the week twice as well as being named a SAL Mid-Season All Star.

2007 Modesto Nuts

Durden spent 2007 in advanced "A" ball with the Modesto Nuts. Durden finished 8-9 with a 4.70 ERA for the Nuts.

Trivia

* Durden throws left handed but bats right handed.
* In 2002 while a junior at Cook High, Durden tossed a no-hitter against Georgia high school powerhouse Lee County High School, who at the time was ranked in the top 10 of 5A baseball, which is Georgia's largest classification.
* In 2006, Durden was the starting pitcher who attempted to pick off Koby Clemens (son of Roger Clemens) when Asheville manager Joe Mikulik threw his famous tirade. [ [http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/13557523/site/21683474/ Major tantrum for minor league manager] ]

References

* [http://www.eteamz.com/cookhornets/index.cfm? Cook Hornets page]
* [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Brandon%2520Durden&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=460081 Minor League Baseball stats for Brandon Durden]
* [http://media.www.gcsunade.com/media/storage/paper299/news/2005/04/22/Sports/Pitching.Prospect.Draws.Mlb.Scouts-934085.shtml Pitching prospect draws MLB scouts]