Conor Harber has been on both ends of the fishing line, so to speak, when it comes to his baseball career.

The former Astoria Fisherman (Class of 2012) is currently in his second season as a pitcher with the Carolina Mudcats, a Class A Advanced minor league team (named after a catfish) of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Harber was enjoying Day 3 of a three-day break Wednesday, as the Carolina League held its annual All-Star game Tuesday. It’s back to work Thursday, when the Mudcats begin a two-game road trip to Buies Creek, North Carolina.

From there, it’s two home games vs. Buies Creek, followed by a six-game road swing. After that, the next open date for the Mudcats is July 17.

That’s life in the minor leagues.

The Mudcats, based in Zebulon, North Carolina, are just the latest stop for Harber, who has played for two colleges and three different minor league clubs since 2013.

He has worked his way up the Brewers’ system since 2015, pitching for the Helena Brewers and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers before joining the Mudcats.

At 24 years old, Harber is getting to be an old hand at the bus rides, promotional nights at the ball park and those rare days off. Over the next month, Carolina has just two scheduled open dates.

“I got a little taste of North Carolina last year, and what the league and travel was going to be like,” Harber said. “The Carolina League is actually much better than a lot of leagues. Our longest trip was only six hours, and we did that the first road trip of the season, to Wilmington.

“When I was with Wisconsin, the average trip was six to eight hours, and one that was 14. There’s other leagues that have it much worse than we do.”

The biggest adjustment for Harber — the weather.

For an Oregon kid who was born in Coos Bay and grew up in Astoria, North Carolina was a culture shock.

“Last year was the first time I had experienced true humidity,” Harber said. “That was a big change. We had a two-week stretch where it was 95 to 100, with 100 percent humidity. It really takes all the energy out of you.

“The next month-and-a-half is when it starts heating up.”

And then there’s the fun side of minor league baseball — the almost daily “promotion nights” at the ball park.

This season — in addition to Taco Tuesdays and Dollar Dog Days, the Mudcats have scheduled ‘Bark in the Park,’ ‘Honky Tonk night’ and ‘Star Wars night’ at Five County Stadium.

“We had some pretty cool jerseys for Memorial Day, but that got rained out,” Harber said. “Star Wars night was a good one. And we had ‘Brewers Weekend,’ when we wore the old throwback blue.”

Harber is certainly doing what he can to move up the minor league ladder, as his numbers on the mound keep improving.

After going 4-9 in 2017, Harber is currently 2-3, with a 2.59 earned run average (down from 5.04 a year ago), with 46 strikeouts and 31 walks in 55.2 innings pitched. He’s made seven starts, after coming out of the bullpen earlier in the season.

“I would like to take down the walks a little, but over time I’m starting to get there,” Harber said.

“My command is better and I’m going after hitters, and not nibbling the corners as much,” he said. “I’m letting them get themselves out, rather than trying to strike everyone out. That’s keeping my pitch count low. Instead of throwing 50 pitches in three innings, I can go four or five innings if they need me to.”

Harber ended the first half of the season on the best note possible.

A day before the All-Star break, Harber led the Mudcats to a 3-2 win at Myrtle Beach, pitching a full six innings to earn the victory.

“We were able to take four of five games in Myrtle Beach and ended it with a win. That made the three-hour bus ride home a little better.”

Harber has certainly accumulated the frequent flyer miles since graduating from high school.

He played at Western Nevada College in Carson City in 2013 and ‘14. From there, he spent the spring of 2015 with the Oregon Ducks, and played that summer with the Helena (Montana) Brewers of the Pioneer League.

Harber played the 2016 season with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, before joining Carolina in 2017.

“My goal is to hopefully finish this year off at Double A,” he says, which could mean a move to Biloxi, Mississippi. “I can do it if I stay on the same pace I’m at, and finish strong.”

Fans can follow the Mudcats (and listen to games live) through the team’s website: https://www.milb.com/carolina-mudcats.

The Conor Harber timeline:

2012: Graduated from Astoria High School. Helped lead the Fishermen to the 2011 state title.

2013: Selected in the 38th round by the Baltimore Orioles in the amateur draft.

2014: Selected in the 40th round by the Tampa Bay Rays in the amateur draft.

Played two years (2013-14) at Western Nevada College in Carson City, Nevada, earning third-team All-American honors as a sophomore.

2015: Selected in the 16th round by the Milwaukee Brewers in the amateur draft.

Played the spring of 2015 for the Oregon Ducks, spent the summer of 2015 with the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer (Rookie) League.

2016: Played for Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest (Single A) League.

2017-18: Carolina Mudcats of the Class A Advanced Carolina League.