LAUER BRINGS MLB EXEPERIENCE TO BISONS’ MOUND

Photos Courtesy of the Buffalo Bisons

The Buffalo Bisons have a new ace on their mound in 2025, and his name is Eric Lauer.

If his name rings some bells, that’s because he comes to the City of Good Neighbors with six years of MLB experience with the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers. Originally drafted by the Bisons’ parent club, the Toronto Blue Jays, back in 2013, Lauer has come full circle in his professional career.

“It's really nice and very exciting,” Lauer said. “It shows the confidence that they have in me and I'm ready to take the ball. The team, all the guys and the staff, everybody's been just awesome to work with so far.

“Everybody's been very nice and welcoming, and I'm excited to get to work.”

Lauer also has experience playing for the Kia Tigers of the KBO in South Korea, who he spent time with a year ago. While his preference would be to play in the big leagues here in North America, his stint overseas was time well-spent.

“(Playing there) was so fun,” Lauer said. “If I could take something from South Korea and have it here, it would be the fan interaction and the way that they market the game. I think we market the game great, but it's a whole different world over there. The games are a little longer but it doesn't really feel like that because the fans are so into it the whole time.”

The pitching staff that Lauer joins in Buffalo is a mix of veterans and prospects, and he feels that he will fit in just fine.

“I love the mix in AAA, especially when you have those older veteran guys that have been there, done that and the young guys who are trying to make their mark on the game,” Lauer said. “It's cool seeing the older and younger generations play together, learn from each other and try new things.

“The pitching group as a whole, it's a fun group. And that's kind of what you look for on the pitching side. Can we all jive? Can we all hang out together, learn from each other, pick each other's brains, and just have fun? That's what we're here for, and so far I like what I’ve seen.”

According to Lauer, he is decidedly among the old-school crowd and that approach has worked for him throughout his career.

Photos Courtesy of the Buffalo Bisons

“I've always been more of an old-school guy, because I didn't grow up with all the metrics and data and stuff like that. So I tend to lean more towards guys who can play the game just with their eyes, rather than metrics,” Lauer said. “Obviously, it's nice to confirm what it is you're trying to work on and whatnot. But I very much prefer just the old school style of baseball – seeing what guys have, making sure that it gets results, and kind of adjusting off that.”

His manager, Casey Candaele, echoed that sentiment.

“Eric goes after hitters – he pounds the strike zone and uses all of his pitches effectively,” Candaele said. “When he gets ahead, he has the ability to go strike the ball in the zone with his breaking ball and he hits corners with his fastball late in the count when he's ahead. He’s kind of an old-school pitcher and he's got good stuff, so I’m looking forward to watching him.”

While Lauer hopes to have good results while a member of the Herd, his goal is to get back on a major-league roster and he has a plan to do so.

“I think consistency is going to be big for me, especially in my velocity,” Lauer said. “Other than that, just working on pounding the zone and making sure I'm getting guys out. That's kind of always been part of my game, just filling up the zone and throwing the ball where I want. The last couple of years, I was dealing with some stuff arm-wise so now that I have everything kind of back under my control, I feel like I can get right back to where I was.”