This week’s SotW has put together a nice first month-plus of the season and ranks among the team leaders in several offensive categories. Matt Tucker has taken advantage of the extra playing time he received when Pedro Florimon went down to injury and solidified the shortstop spot for the Shorebirds.
It’s no surprise that Tucker has done well as he’s no stranger to honors – he was picked as an Appalachian League All-Star with Bluefield in 2007 despite playing nearly half his games with the Aberdeen IronBirds after a callup. While he wasn’t picked until round 31 last year by the Orioles, thus far Matt’s taken advantage of his opportunities in the system and the soon-to-be 24 year old could catch up to the level one would expect a player his age to progress if he continues the solid play.
A native of Texas, the product of Dallas Baptist University is sporting an OPS of .810, which means he’s both getting on base and hitting with power (an average OPS is about .700, the stat stands for on-base percentage plus slugging percentage, defined as total bases divided by at-bats.) A look at the more regular stat sheet shows Matt is hitting .294 with a home run and 9 RBI in 102 at-bats thus far this season. While the RBI total may seem low, Matt generally hits second in the lineup, which cuts down his RBI chances. With just 21 strikeouts in 102 at-bats, Matt generally does his job of moving usual leadoff hitter Matt Angle up along the basepaths when Angle gets on.
As the Shorebirds attempt to stay in the hunt for the first-half SAL title, they’ll be counting on Matt to continue doing what he’s been doing. It’s good enough to be honored as this week’s Shorebird of the Week.
Did Rockstar energy drink pay you for that product placement?