It was just two short years ago that former Defiance High School pitching standout Tyler Burgoon made his professional baseball debut, after being drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 10th-round of the First-Year Player Amateur Baseball Draft in June of 2010.

In his first season after getting drafted out of the University of Michigan, the 2007 DHS grad helped the Everett (Wash.) AquaSox to a Rookie League championship, serving as the team's closer. Burgoon was on the mound when his team recorded the final out to capture that championship.

This season, Burgoon made the move to Single-A, where he found himself pitching for the Clinton LumberKings in Clinton, Iowa. The hard-throwing, slightly built righty, once again found himself at the back end of the bullpen in Clinton. The season proved to be a successful one for Burgoon, after leading Clinton in appearances in 2011.

"The biggest thing I tried to do all season was be consistent," said Burgoon. "I think I did okay, I had some peaks and valleys during the season, but I kept working, trying to get better. My mentality has been to show the organization that I can be a guy they can count on and know what they'll get from me when I'm on the mound."

The first half of 2011, the LumberKings had one of the worst records in all of Minor League Baseball. But, in the second half of the season the club really turned it around, advancing to the Midwest League Playoffs. Burgoon did his part all season long, finishing 5-5 with a team-leading 14 saves and an ERA of 2.30. In 622/3 innings pitched, the righty struck out 66 and walked just 15 batters.

"It was quite a turnaround in the second half. In the first half, we had the second worst record in the minors, but when we got to the second half everything felt different," Burgoon said. "It really was a fresh start, and we all really made a push to make it to the playoffs. I've been blessed to have made the playoffs my first two seasons in baseball, it's something that has really helped my development as a pitcher.

"I think what has also helped me is my willingness to go into a ballgame in any situation," continued Burgoon. "That has really helped me develop emotionally as a pitcher. I knew I couldn't get too excited when I went in to pitch in a save situation, and I couldn't be down if I had to go in to stop the bleeding in a game. The best thing is I got to experience pitching in a lot of different situations."

Burgoon believes that having those opportunities will help him climb the minor league ladder more quickly in the Mariners' organization.

"My goal all along has been to show the organization that I don't need to be put in a specific role," said Burgoon. "If they know I'm willing to pitch whenever I'm needed to in any situation, that will help my development and it should help me become more valuable to the organization."

Presently, Burgoon is in Peoria, Ariz., where he's taking part in Fall Instructional League until Oct. 14. The DHS alum should see some familiar faces in Peoria in Padres' farmhands Justin Hancock of Defiance and Matt Wisler of Bryan who are also at Fall Instructional League. The Mariners and the Padres share the same training facility.

"I found out three weeks before the season ended that they wanted me to go to Arizona and it's an honor to be selected to come here," said Burgoon, who has been in Arizona for awhile. "I'm looking forward to the extra work, and hopefully it will help give me a leg up on moving up in the organization."

In his two seasons of playing professional baseball, the biggest lesson Burgoon admits learning has been how to control his emotions. Of course he's been working on the physical part of the game, trying to improve every day, but Burgoon feels working on how to be in control is becoming one of his biggest strengths.

"It's really all about doing my job and being in control," said Burgoon. "In the second half of the season, I was really attacking the strike zone and using of my slider as my out pitch. I'm still developing my change-up too, which I'm getting more comfortable with. By the end of the season, I was hitting 95 on the gun, and I felt great.

"The biggest lesson I've learned so far, again, has been to try and control my emotions," concluded Burgoon. "I've tried to tell myself, don't get upset if a call doesn't go your way or if somebody makes an error behind you. I tell myself, don't worry about it and get back to work. That way of thinking has helped me become a better pitcher."