Joash Brodin got the opportunity he had been waiting for his entire life during the 2013 season. The Plano, Texas native who now resides in Olympia, Washington had spent the first four and a half seasons of his professional career playing in independent baseball. He had hit .300 or better in every one of those seasons, earned All-Star appearances and even led the Frontier League in batting the 2012 campaign before coming to Long Island. Not to mention, he was leading the Ducks in several offensive categories and had just earned a starting spot in the Atlantic League All-Star Game. Yet despite all of his accolades, Brodin had never been given the chance to showcase his talents for a Major League organization. Then, the Arizona Diamondbacks came calling.

“It was awesome,” he recalled via telephone. “It was something that I had been waiting for my whole life. My parents were…