Shorebird of the Week – July 19, 2012

After a one-day detour to pitching-short Norfolk, Zach Fowler is back within the Delmarva fold.

While his cup of coffee with the Tides was nothing spectacular statistically (two runs and five hits in three innings pitched against Rochester) it didn’t take away from the solid season Zach is having with Delmarva.

One of the older pitchers on the staff, Fowler has parlayed his experience into success over his two-year Oriole minor league career. The 23-year-old lefty is a product of Texas Tech, and despite his low draft status as a 34th round selection in 2011, Zach has pitched to a career ERA of 2.33 with an outstanding 56:18 strikeout:walk ratio. In fact, with Delmarva Fowler is averaging just barely under a strikeout per inning (35 Ks in 35 1/3 innings.) And while he only has two saves, Zach is leading the team with 14 games finished – this seems to be a year where our squad has no set closer, so there have been a number of three-inning saves.

It’s not unknown for the Orioles to strike it rich with a low-round prospect, as 2011 Shorebird Jacob Pettit was a late-pick lefty from 2010 who’s advanced all the way to Bowie. And as long as Fowler can keep his WHIP in the range of 1.0 to 1.1 at each stop up the ladder there’s no telling just how far he will advance. He wasn’t ready for the International League quite yet, but in a couple seasons Zach may make a triumphant return.