April 8, 2020, Waldorf, MD – The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs announced the signing of Brad Markey and Brandon Barker on Wednesday afternoon.

Brad Markey will return to the Old Line State to play professionally for the first time in his seven year career. The right-hander was born in Baltimore, and graduated from Wright High School in Bel Air, Maryland.

The 28-year-old was selected in the 19th round of the 2014 MLB June Amateur Draft by the Chicago Cubs out of Virginia Tech. Markey hit his stride in 2015 posting a 7-0 record with a 1.61 ERA combined between Single-A South Bend, and Advanced-A Myrtle Beach. He would go on to play at the Triple-A level in parts of three seasons with the Iowa Cubs, and the Cincinnati Reds affiliate, the Louisville Bats as recently as 2019.

Brandon Barker is also familiar with Maryland, having played for the Bowie Baysox in both 2016 and 2017. The right-hander was born in Panama, but attended high school and college in Georgia, and was drafted out of Mercer University in the 16th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves.

The 6-3 starting pitcher most recently played in affiliated baseball in 2018 in the Miami Marlins organization, and dominated in the Independent Canadian-American Association with a 7-3 record and a 3.39 ERA in 2019.

“Our pitching staff was already strong, in the top half of the league undoubtedly. But adding a couple of elite arms like Markey and Barker who have each been on the cusp of MLB call ups in the last three years brings us to a new tier,” said Blue Crabs General Manager, Courtney Knichel.