The closest thing this year’s Shorebirds have to a ‘hometown hero’, Tyler Townsend came to town with some high expectations placed upon him by both the Orioles and local fans.
The high expectations from the Orioles come from being a third-round pick in last year’s amateur draft and one of the top 100 selected overall. When you throw in the obvious familiarity of many Delaware Shorebird fans with Townsend’s talent, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some players buckle and fold under the pressure. Indeed, it looked like Townsend might be a bust – or at least develop more slowly than scouts figured – after he hit just .143 in 31 games for Aberdeen last year.
Maybe home cooking is what Tyler needed to succeed, though. Despite being sidetracked by a hamstring injury and a quick trip to the Gulf Coast League for a rehab stint, Townsend has moved into a leadership role among the batters in manager Ryan Minor’s lineup. Hitting .383 at home certainly proves he finds the confines of Perdue Stadium quite friendly.
A far cry from that anemic .143 mark last year, Tyler is leading the squad with a .324 average in 108 at-bats spanning 28 games. More importantly, Tyler is showing signs of power, ripping 14 extra-base hits so far including a triple and two home runs. It leads to an OPS of .887, leaving him second among this year’s crop of Shorebirds (and he tops the list among current players.) Yet Townsend is difficult to strike out as he’s fanned just 16 times.
Having gone away to star at Florida International University, the native of Lewes gets to return to the closest Orioles affiliate and allow those fans who saw him tear up the First State’s prep ranks continue his bid for a job in The Show. Having just turned 22, this experience will be helpful in the long run and South Atlantic League foes will suffer in the short run.
