Braylen Wimmer was awake during brain surgery.
As the surgeon worked on removing a mass of tissue from the area behind the 24-year-old’s left ear, a speech pathologist asked him questions about his occupation.
Those questions pertained to baseball.
Just three weeks earlier, things were normal. Wimmer, a fast-rising prospect in the Rockies’ farm system, was playing in the Arizona Fall League, selected to participate after an impressive third professional season split between High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Wimmer finished the 2025 campaign with a .296/.366/.466 slash line, 17 home runs and 37 steals in 131 games. Defensively, he continued to prove his versatility -- he’s appeared at every position on the field but pitcher, catcher and first base as a pro.
But on Nov. 1, as Wimmer and some teammates were riding to the ballpark in Scottsdale, everything changed.
Wimmer had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. Shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. And now, 18 days later, he was undergoing an awake craniotomy, the almost fantastical procedure in which the patient is aware that someone is inside his brain.
But Wimmer is no stranger to having to adjust in the face of adversity. And his response in the face of such a scary situation made it very evident where his mind was.
His girlfriend, Peyton Gray -- who launched a GoFundMe page to help pay for Wimmer’s medical expenses -- asked him a somber question.
“Why you?” she asked. “Why did this happen to a healthy 24-year-old?”
His response strengthened her.
“Because I can handle this,” Wimmer said. “And maybe that's my purpose, so one day I can help others through similar cases.”
Wimmer has been stoic, but anyone facing questions of mortality would be anxious in a time like this.
Chris Forbes, the Rockies’ director of player development, can relate. About a year before Wimmer was born, Forbes was diagnosed with what doctors said were two inoperable brain tumors.
Forbes, 53, has lived in the face of death. And when he got word of what had happened with Wimmer, he flew to Oklahoma to see him.
“He was a little more anxious about it at that time,” Forbes said. “I think one of the best things that happened to him was that the surgeon recommended he talk to a guy who had been through that surgery.”
That was Ryan Sharp, who also had a seizure before doctors found a tumor on the left side of his brain.
Sharp, describing something that Wimmer would soon discover for himself, said that “Dr. Google can be scary.” But because of his own ordeal, he was able to help Wimmer prepare for what was next.
“Braylen and his girlfriend met with that gentleman, and it ended up being probably the best thing that happened to him,” Forbes said. “The guy said, ‘Yeah, expect this, expect this, expect this. You’re gonna be fine here.’ That just kind of calmed everything down.”
Baseball has helped Wimmer stay focused on the future that awaits him after he recovers from this formidable fight.
It hasn't been a straightforward path to the success he's already enjoyed in the Minors. Wimmer wasn’t heavily recruited out of Yukon High School in suburban Oklahoma City, and even after shining at the University of South Carolina, round after round passed in the 2023 Draft. After 231 selections, his name was finally called by the Rockies.
“He had massive tools coming out,” said Rockies scout Jordan Czarnecki, who recommended drafting Wimmer. “I mean, he’s 6-3 and runs a 6.4-second 60[-yard dash]. He plays multiple positions, so there’s defensive versatility there. There are a lot of things to really, really like.
“I don’t think he performed as well as he wanted to in his junior year at South Carolina. The Phillies ended up drafting him [in the 18th round], he didn't sign. He came back to school and we were lucky enough to grab him his senior year, and he’s tracking to be a big leaguer if he keeps doing what he’s been doing.”
Forbes noted that the way he was performing when he was promoted from High-A to Double-A, Wimmer was on track to earn prestigious recognition.
"Obviously he finished the year in Double-A," Forbes said, "but he had a massive year going in Spokane. We probably pulled him out of there when he likely could've been the MVP of that league."
Now, a massive obstacle stands in the way of Wimmer’s future. But if there’s one thing the Rockies have discovered about him, it’s that his new battle will only intensify his focus and determination.
In fact, Forbes said Wimmer’s target is an ambitious one that is by no means out of the question for a man like him.
“Even the night before the surgery,” Forbes said, “he was talking about how he didn’t want to be left behind. He was already thinking about Spring Training. And the thing about Spring Training, it’s going to be a massive, massive motivating factor.”
There are many unknowns ahead for Braylen Wimmer. But as he fights the battle before him, he's also visualizing something that he still expects will happen: his Major League debut.
It won’t be easy and there are never any guarantees. What is at stake is much bigger than baseball.
But baseball drives Wimmer, and now it will drive him in a way he could never have imagined it would.
“I think we’ve seen it for a long time with him,” Czarnecki said. “He is uber-focused on making it to the big leagues. And with that, it’s going to give him the power to overcome this and get back on the field -- it's going to give him that drive and determination.
“It’s going to take extra now.”