Lanky catcher Brockmeyer has made big impression at several different stops

Chicago Cubs prospect Cael Brockmeyer has been all over the place this year.

He’s worked with Cubs ace Jon Lester and even received a nickname from veteran major league catcher David Ross.

However, nowadays he finds himself settled in with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

Since starting season in the Cubs’ big league camp in Mesa, Arizona, for spring training, Brockmeyer has been either promoted or demoted six times before playing his last 29 games with the Pelicans since being received from Triple-A Iowa on July 20.

“So far it’s been a pretty exciting year,” said Brockmeyer, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound catcher. “I started off pretty well and had been moving around a lot. I got to see a lot of different teams and have played at a bunch of different levels so that’s been fun. But it’s been nice to kind of settle in the last few weeks and get back into a routine here in Myrtle Beach.”

On his first day in Mesa, Brockmeyer caught former Boston Red Sox hurler Lester, whom Brockmeyer was a fan of while growing up as a Red Sox fan in Connecticut.

“That was definitely pretty exciting; especially with me growing up in New England as a Red Sox fan and watching [Lester] on TV, then getting the opportunity to catch one of his bullpen [sessions] was pretty exciting,” said Brockmeyer, who was drafted by the Cubs in the 16th round of the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft. “He goes about his work and he’s a workhorse and gets after it. So it was definitely humbling to be able to do that for sure, and to get such praise from a guy I look up to like that.”

He also received a nickname. Ross, a seasoned veteran, gave Brockmeyer the moniker of “Octopus” because of the young player’s long arms.

“I was just doing a lot of work with the catchers and I have really long arms and was able to save some really low balls from getting away,” Brockmeyer said. “David Ross noticed that and just one day came up with [the nickname] and it just kind of stuck. So it was kind of a funny thing that we joked around with.”

Overall, Brockmeyer had quite an experience in spring training, a place he originally wasn’t supposed to wind up in. He was a late addition to camp, but many Cubs players and coaches wanted him to stick around.

Brockmeyer did all the early work with the catchers, helped with the bullpen sessions and side sessions, and sat in on discussions about the position.

Just being around big league players gave him a better perspective.

“That was obviously a great experience; I definitely learned a lot. It was a lot of fun just being able to see all of the major league [players] and kind of pick up on their routines and how they go about their business and about their game,” said Brockmeyer, who played collegiately at Cal State Bakersfield. “I just kind of sat back and watched and learned from them and [took] away what they find success in and used it to my advantage.”

After spring training, Brockmeyer spent time at all levels of the minors before settling in with Myrtle Beach.

Pelicans manager Mark Johnson – who was a catcher in the major leagues for eight years – sees a lot of potential in his big catcher and believes his professional work ethic will help him go far.

“Cael is very focused and a hard-working guy that really takes his job serious. He wants to do the best at everything, every single day with whatever he’s doing and [wants to] get better daily,” Johnson said of Brockmeyer, who has hit nine home runs between four different teams this year. “… [Brockmeyer] is a pro, too. He does things the right way and he’s very coachable.”

Brockmeyer, 23, has been told he’s too big to catch in the past, but he’s been proving those doubters wrong. He also said a lot of pitchers enjoy throwing to him because he gives them a bigger target.

“You don’t have many catchers that are too tall, so it’s always been something that I’ve kind of battled against. At the same time, I think it helps me; I always try to stay flexible and I know I get back there and give a pretty big target and pitchers like to throw to that and like to see that big target back there,” said Brockmeyer, who was named to the Cubs’ 2015 Arizona Fall League team. “That’s the name of the game, basically, just trying to help our pitchers feel comfortable out there on the mound.”

Said Johnson: “He’s a big, tall catcher that can swat good and you don’t see that very often. He gets down there like a 5-11 catcher and you don’t really see guys [catch] like he does and it makes him special in that regard as far as the way he can get underneath the baseball and get us more strikes, which is the key to catching.”

Pelicans reliever and former Coastal Carolina standout Josh Conway has enjoyed having the big backstop.

“Cael is pretty good. He’s a really big target and pitchers love that,” Conway said. “All of our catchers here have been working extremely hard for us; they do a great job of keeping balls in front of them and for us pitchers that makes our lives a lot easier. Just having a guy back there that you know can block anything and can keep a lot of stuff in front of him is great to have.”

Brockmeyer started the year in Low-A South Bend (Ind.) on a hot streak and in 63 games, he finished batting .282 with five home runs, 31 runs scored and 33 RBIs.

“It was a good start to the year and it’s definitely an exciting place there,” Brockmeyer said of South Bend. “They’ve got a new stadium and the fans are pretty happy about the Cubs [organization] being there. It was a nice atmosphere and nice place to play and I definitely enjoyed it there.”

After that, though, Brockmeyer hardly had a place to hang his hat. He played four games with the Pelicans after a promotion on June 29 and following the brief stint, Brockmeyer played four games with Double-A Tennessee.

He was then promoted to Triple-A Iowa and played in only one game before going back to Double-A for three more games.

Iowa called Brockmeyer back up on July 17 and after two games there, he found his way back to Myrtle Beach.

“It’s definitely a whirlwind. You get your frequent flier miles up and you also kind of get away from your routines but you try to stick with it,” said Brockmeyer, who is batting .255 with three home runs, 21 RBIs and 14 runs since joining the Pelicans. “It’s difficult to adjust to but you get used to it; now being back here, it’s easier to get settled in. When you’re in one spot for a while, you can get mentally locked in and get into a routine so that’s what’s been nice about the time here. It’s been helpful.”

Cubs mental skills coordinator and 16-year veteran Darnell McDonald – who made two trips to Myrtle Beach this year – likes what he sees out of Brockmeyer and shared with him a thing or two about traveling.

“I know Cael has been a lot of places this year and that’s part of the grind. He started in big league camp and was one of the favorites out there among the coaches and players,” McDonald said. “Since then, he’s been all over the place and I just told him, ‘You’ll end up where you’re supposed to be, just enjoy the ride.’ I remember seeing [Brockmeyer] for the first time last year and to see him now and see how far he’s come, I’m really happy for him. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next for him.”

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Lanky catcher Brockmeyer has made big impression at several different stops."