A former Phillies 1st-round draft pick is now playing college football in Idaho

Tanner Gueller flew to New Jersey in May after learning that the Phillies had released his brother Mitch, a 2012 first round pick.

Before boarding his flight, Tanner Gueller asked his college football coaches at Idaho State if the Bengals had any openings on their roster. He had an idea.

His brother had not played football since 2011 and not been a wide receiver since his sophomore year in high school.. But Taner, who is Idaho State's quarterback, believed Mitch was athletic enough to quickly transition from minor-league pitcher to wide receiver at a Football Championship Subdivision program.

The brothers packed up Mitch's apartment near Lakewood, N.J. where Mitch Gueller lived this season as he pitched five games with the single-A BlueClaws before being released. Mitch Gueller, 22, had a 4.52 ERA in five minor-league seasons as a righthanded pitcher. It was a reminder of how challenging baseball can be. Even a first-round pick has little guarantee.

"I was upset about it," Mitch Gueller told The Chronicle (Wash.) in July. "I guess it was just kind of, if a chapter closes in your life, you've got to kind of take it in stride."

They drove all the way home to Washington state - with stops at Fenway Park and their dad's home in eastern Wyoming - and a plan was hatched. Mitch Gueller accepted his brother's offer to play for Idaho State. His baseball future was bleak as no teams reached out after the Phillies let him go. Maybe football - and a college degree - was a better path.

"I didn't want to push it on him or mention it too much. He had dedicated a lot of his life to a professional baseball career. I wasn't trying to force him on anything," Tanner Gueller said. "He wasn't in a great mood. He was really bummed. He had his goals set for a career in professional baseball, but I think once the dust kind of settled a little while later and he realized it would have to be a new path set, that's when he started to think about it a little more."

Mitch Gueller, 22, caught two passed for 48 yards in last Saturday's season opening win over Simon Fraser, a Canadian college. Idaho State's head coach does not allow freshmen to talk to the media. Gueller's tuition, board, and books are paid for by Major League Baseball's scholarship fund. He took his first college courses 50 months after he signed with the Phillies instead of playing at Washington State. Gueller is taking a slate of general courses at Idaho State as he figures out what he wants to major in.

The Phillies drafted him with the 54th pick of the 2012 draft and awarded him a $940,000. Gueller's fastball touched 95 mph and he was dominant in his senior year at W.F. West High in Chehalis, Wash. His family and friends gathered at the Guellers home to celebrate draft day.

"I remember that day vividly. Even for me, that was one of the coolest days of my life. To see a dream like that actually come and happen like that," Tanner Gueller said. "I remember when he got the call from the Phillies and then running downstairs to where everyone was and watching it on TV. Pat Gillick announced it and listening to him say my brother's name on TV. It was definitely one of the neatest things I've experienced. And as a family, it was one of the proudest moments because we knew how hard he worked for it."

That day proved to be the highlight of Mitch Gueller's professional career. He spent three years at short-season Class A Williamsport, a league where players - especially first-round picks - are known to breeze through. This season was his first year playing for a full-season team. He pitched just 131/3 innings before being released. It was a cruel finish to a career that started with such excitement.

"We would sit at home and listen to the games on the radio when he was at Williamsport and I can remember sitting on the couch many times just sweating and stressing because you always want your family and siblings to do well," Tanner Gueller said. "There were many ups and downs and then to hear he got released, yeah it was tough because you always hope for a sibling to succeed. But a positive did come out of it, for sure."