Phillies' McCarthy Tatum and UC Irvine's Jacob King using virtual workout plans to stay in shape

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- As more and more athletes move their training from actual gyms to only online programs, McCarthy Tatum and Jacob King are changing their approach for an upcoming season that's been altered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Tatum and King are just two of the many baseball players that have been working out at Bullett Performance Training in Clovis.

"We started bringing everybody back, it was pretty fun," says Brandon Bullett, owner of Buller Performance Training. "When Fresno and Clovis went on the shelter in home, it kind of put a damper on things here and closed us down."

Tatum, a Clovis High grad, was drafted out of Fresno State last year. The former Diamond Dog turned Philadelphia Phillie was sent home from Spring Training in Clearwater, Florida.

"We were there for about a week and played baseball for only four of those days," Tatum said. "The other three were just sitting around waiting for the verdict, and they decided to send us all home."

It was a similar story from King. The Buchanan Alum was playing in his first season at UC Irvine.

"First it changed from no fans at all the games, then it changed to all games canceled in a matter of a day," King said.

The pair are dealing with the same struggles all spring sport athletes have been faced with.

"It's tough; all the minor league baseball players train four months of their own time to go to spring training, and it's done in a week," Tatum said.

"it's been terrible," King said. "We worked all offseason to prepare for this season. We only went so far, and for it to get shut down like that wasn't good."

King is now preparing for summer ball but says next season will be a lot more competitive with the NCAA granting seniors another year of eligibility.

"It's great, but different because we're going to have a lot more guys on the team, a lot less spots for those guys," King said.

The biggest challenge for these minor league players is not having a specific date for when their season will resume.

Bullett and his team are now designing individualized online programs for each athlete, taking into consideration what equipment they have at home.

"A lot of kids are complaining right now about what they don't have, they don't have this, don't have that," Bullett said. "Do what you can with what you have. The biggest thing is everyone is going through this at the same time. It's not just one person or two people. Everybody is going through the same thing, so just do what you have with what you can."

While Bullett Performance Training has followed the shelter in place order, there are still opportunities for athletes to participate in their individualized training programs at home with the equipment they have or any household item.

Their staff and ownership look forward to returning to normal operating procedures out of the newly remodeled 5,000 square foot facility.

If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about their programs and offerings, feel free to email bullettgym@gmail.com.

For more news coverage on the coronavirus and COVID-19 go to ABC30.com/coronavirus