A minor league baseball player and 2010 Skyline graduate got the call of a lifetime on the final day of July: Right-handed pitcher Adrian Sampson, 23, was traded to the Tacoma Rainiers.

Sampson was drafted in his sophomore year at Bellevue College to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, and specifically played for the AAA affiliate the Indianapolis Indians.

Now, he’s moved across the country to be back on the West Coast, about an hour from his hometown school, Skyline High. He had six appearances as a starting pitcher for the Rainiers in the 2015 season.

“It’s been fantastic,” Sampson said in late August. “Having family and friends come out to every game is great. I was refreshed when I came here. Seeing them in the stands is tremendous.”

He admitted to having mixed emotions after getting the call he would be traded to the Seattle Mariners organization’s minor league team.

“We had a baseball family over there in Pittsburgh. I played with those guys for four years. Obviously that is the hardest part. You spend countless hours with your teammates every day,” Sampson said. “When I heard I was being traded to the Seattle Mariners my heart almost stopped. If there was one organization out there I would had liked to be traded to, this was it for sure.”

Sampson, who pitched for the Bellevue Bulldogs in 2011 and 2012 before being drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur Draft, credits the college’s baseball coach, Mark Yoshino, for molding him into the pitcher he is today.

“Yosh was definitely my second father figure to me. He sat me down and taught me the art of pitching,” Sampson said. “He just had so many uncharacteristic ways of teaching, and it was just outstanding. The work he puts in is incredible. He is always putting in 12- to 14-hour days and is just an unbelievable coach.”

Sampson recorded a 2-4 overall record in six starts since being acquired by the Rainiers. He said his breaking ball is his best pitch, but he feels confident in his fastball as well as a newly developed change-up.

“You got to get guys out with the fastball if you want to pitch in the big leagues,” he said. “The biggest pitch I learned about three years ago was the change-up. That is so important in professional ball, but my breaking ball is definitely my best pitch.”

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@bellevuereporter.com