Bryan Marquez is hot most days on the baseball diamond; the unforgiving Texan daylight—beating down at 100 degrees on a good day—will do that.

The Bonney Lake son is a first baseman and designated hitter for the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, a team in the independent North American Baseball League. He dedicates all his time to the game, making $20 to $30 a day as a utility player and living with up to three other teammates at a time in a one bedroom apartment. Every day, they wake up late in the morning and hit the gym by noon, then field practice, then the night’s scheduled game. Train, play, improve, repeat. He is 25 years old and living his American dream.

“It has always been my goal to continue playing baseball after school,” Marquez said.

Marquez graduated from Sumner High School in 2005, a South Puget Sound League All-Star who twice made it one game away from the playoffs.

He made it to playoffs the following season while captaining the Green River Community College Gators. He earned first-team Western Region honors two seasons running, as a third baseman and second baseman, respectively.

Marquez moved on to New Mexico State where his distinguished run on the Aggies gained the attention of a recruiter for the Kalamazoo Kings, a Frontier League independent team.

But in his first season in 2009, Marquez only played 24 games and his batting average suffered for it. He had remained solidly in the mid .300s during his high school and college careers, and he dropped to .179 in Michigan.

The following season saw improvement despite a disrupted season.

“I was traded to the Gateway Grizzlies for, like, two weeks, then I was back to the Kings,” he said. “And I was injured for a little bit. I bruised my hand, so I had to work with that for a little while.”

Marquez had much more time on the field in 2010, playing 80 games and raising his overall batting average to .223 across 283 at-bats. He was starting to find his groove.

And then everything was upended.

“The Kings folded,” Marquez said. “So I was stranded in Michigan with no one to play for. I tried to find a team before the new season began, but I just couldn’t do it in time.”

So Marquez found himself forced to take a year off, play-wise. He picked himself up and relocated to California, where he joined the final spring training of the Chico Outlaws before that team disbanded.

He stayed in San Diego with a friend, picking up some coaching jobs and doing what he had always done: keep his head down and train.

“My training was the same it had been,” he said. “I didn’t do anything different from when I was on a team. I think I matured a bit and became a smarter player. I’ve worked with a lot of older, more experienced players on my teams, and I think I’ve learned a lot from working with those guys.”

A foray onto an Arizona winter league team introduced Marquez to Eddie Dennis, the coach of the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings.

Dennis brought Marquez back to the Valley as a utility player fielding where he was needed, and as a designated hitter. He started covering first base for the first time in his career.

And then his stats exploded.

Marquez’s batting average has risen to .329, and he leads the league with his .454 on-base percentage. He’s also leading the team in walks and hits by pitches. He’s batted the second-most doubles. The utility player has carved out a regular spot in the starting lineup.

But Marquez keeps a level head.

“I’m not too worried about my own stats,” he said. “Even in college, I didn’t keep up on them. I just work at my game every day and try to bring that to  the diamond.”