At the tail end of last year, I saw an outfield of three players who all came up within the last month of the season and figured that would be the outfield of 2013. The first of those three to make Shorebird of the Week this season is the one who struggled the most at the tail end of 2012: Lucas Herbst.
A 26th-round pick from the 2012 draft out of Santa Clara University, Herbst was initially ticketed for Aberdeen last season but put together numbers solid enough (.270/1/16/.690 OPS) in his first 38 games to play out the string with a Shorebirds team which wasn’t going anywhere. On August 20 last year Herbst made his Shorebird debut and struggled, hitting just .136 in 13 games but at least hitting 2 home runs in that time.
Perhaps it was that tough stretch which kept Lucas off the initial Delmarva roster for 2013, but when Creede Simpson went on the disabled list it was Herbst who got the call to replace him and he’s responded with a solid spot of hitting. In 35 Shorebird games, Lucas has hit .287/2/13/.730 OPS and held down left field admirably in Simpson’s absence due to a hamstring injury.
So the California native, who turns 23 just after the end of the regular season, stands a pretty good chance of sticking around during the always-perilous changeover between halves, when a handful of Shorebirds are typically sent down to Aberdeen to get more playing time at a slightly lower level. He’s on a good track to advance up an Orioles system which seems bereft of outfield prospects once you get past AAA.