A 5′-7″ and 170 pound scrappy and speedy sparkplug, Jon Tucker is this week’s Shorebird of the Week. He would’ve made it to monoblogue a little bit earlier but the Orioles decided for a time that the Frederick Keys needed his services more than Delmarva did. I think even the Shorebirds were surprised they got him back, as they assigned the #6 uniform Jon was wearing to Blake Davis. So Tucker wears #5 now, as he did in this photo.
The small stature probably affected his prospects according to the scouts, as Tucker wasn’t drafted until the 20th round two years ago, despite being from a major college program (University of Florida.) The Orioles did take a chance on him and he’s done a pretty good job holding down second base for Delmarva, hitting .256 in 57 games here. Tucker even has a little bit of power, as 17 of his 51 hits this season here are extra-base hits (11 doubles, 3 triples, and 3 home runs.) Better still for a guy who’s generally been a leadoff hitter, Tucker has 36 walks compared to 35 strikeouts.
Jon fared all right in Frederick, hitting .250 in 18 games, but the power stroke wasn’t there as he managed just 2 doubles out of 15 hits. After a month in Frederick, Tucker was sent back down and picked things back up like he never left, with the exception of the new uniform.
It’s apparent that the time Tucker spent in extended spring training did him good (he didn’t join the Shorebirds until May 10.) With only a couple weeks left in the season, it looks like Tucker should end up with about 250 at-bats in Delmarva – this should be a good indicator of whether he’ll stay here in 2007 or make the jump full time to Frederick.
