Rockies Prospect Braylen Wimmer Stays Strong Through Brain Surgery

According to his Salt River teammates, Wimmer had not shown any health issues when he suffered a seizure on Nov. 1 as the team was heading to the ballpark. Team personnel took him to a hospital. When Wimmer woke up, he found out he had a brain tumor.

Colorado sent Wimmer back to his native Oklahoma to rest as his doctors worked through what was next. During that time, he was visited by Rockies director of player development Chris Forbes and Ryan Sharp, who wasn’t a baseball player. But both had experience with brain tumors and having them removed.

“Braylen and his girlfriend met with that gentleman, and it ended up being probably the best thing that happened to him,” Forbes said to MLB.com. “The guy said, ‘Yeah, expect this, expect this, expect this. You’re gonna be fine here.’ That just kind of calmed everything down.”

While waiting for the surgery, Wimmer and his girlfriend, Peyton Gray, asked Wimmer “why him?” His response was mature, to say the least.

“Because I can handle this,” Wimmer said. “And maybe that's my purpose, so one day I can help others through similar cases.”

Earlier this week, Wimmer had his surgery, one called an awake craniotomy. It means what is says. Wimmer was awake as doctors were removing the tumor from his brain as a speech pathologist asked him questions to ensure he didn’t suffer any brain damage.

Now it’s a road to recovery for the 24-year-old, who indicated to Rockies employees like Forbes that his goal is to be ready for spring training.

Wimmer was the Rockies’ eighth-round pick out of South Carolina in the 2023 MLB draft. He flashed immense talent at the Rockies’ Arizona Complex League team later that year, as he slashed .383/.453/.596 with one home runs and five RBI in 14 games.

In 2024, the Rockies promoted him to Class A Fresno where he played the whole season and slashed .285/.362/.435 in 118 games with 14 home runs and 64 RBI. He carried that momentum into the 2025 season and the AFL.