By Ben Leonard

sfgiants.com file photo: San Francisco Giants left hand pitcher Matt Reynolds joined the Giants pitching staff last Thursday

SAN FRANCISCO– Independent league ball isn’t quite the first thing that comes to mind when you think of glamor. Or even the hundredth. With its minuscule budgets and dwindling attendance, they’re hard places to find future major leaguers.

That wasn’t the case for the San Francisco Giants’ most recent roster addition, Matt Reynolds, who pitched in the Atlantic League before signing with the Giants on June 24th. He was called up Thursday after left-hander Josh Osich was placed on the disabled list with a forearm strain.

“It’s been an interesting journey,” Reynolds said Friday.

“Indy” leagues, as they call them, are a completely different baseball universe. Completely unaffiliated with Major League Baseball, these leagues run mostly in the pursuit of profit and zany promotions.

The Atlantic League is one of the more prestigious independent leagues, with several former big leaguers on Reynolds’ team, but that didn’t stop them from, among other things, hosting an mid-game fireworks show. Yes, stopping play for fifteen minutes right after the seventh inning.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2013 and a rough stint with the Diamondbacks in 2015, that sort of league was Reynolds’ only choice after spring training this season.

“It made it a fun opportunity,” Reynolds said. I kind of got back to really enjoying baseball and enjoying the guys in the clubhouse.”

Playing for the Lancaster Barnstomers this season, Reynolds struck out 32 hitters in 22 innings, good for a 1.64 ERA. That was enough for the Giants to give Reynolds a chance, inking him to a minor league deal and shipping him to Double-A Richmond.

There, he gave up just two hits and no runs in eight relief appearances, striking out seven. When Osich (one of the Giants’ two left-handed pitchers) went down, Reynolds became a clear candidate for a call-up.

Now, he’s thrown into the midst of a pennant race with the Giants, who sit just two games ahead of the Dodgers in the National League West. Quite a different place from Lancaster.

“Obviously it’s really fun to step in here on a really good team that’s playing for some big things,” Reynolds said.