The Delmarva Shorebirds, for the first time this season, did not lose a series, but they also didn’t win the series either.
Delmarva split their six-game set with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, the Low-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shorebirds did look good in this series behind great pitching, lots of speed and timely contact hitting.
The Shorebird offense slashed .211/.284/.253 with a .537 OPS in the six games. They had 40 team hits, four doubles, one triple, one home run and 18 total RBIs. They also earned 18 walks, struck out 55 times and stole an impressive 28 bases in 30 attempts.
The pitching staff was solid, putting together a 3.17 ERA and striking out 73 batters while only walking 22.
But three players really showed out this week. Let’s review our prospect performers of the series.
Offensive MVP: Angel Tejada – INF
Angel Tejada, at the age of 20, has a lot of potential to showcase, as he had a solid offensive week against the Woodpeckers.
In five games, Tejada slashed .278/.263/.444 with a .708 OPS in 18 at-bats. He collected five hits, two extra-base hits, five RBIs and stole three bases in three attempts.
In 21 games this season, Tejada is slashing .250/.286/.347 with a .633 OPS in 72 at-bats. He’s posted 18 hits, five doubles, a triple and six RBIs. His speed has been the big factor for him, as he’s already stolen a career-high 14 bases in a career-high 14 attempts.
MVP on the Mound: Nestor German – RHP
Nestor German put together a masterpiece during Saturday’s game against Fayetteville, as the 22-year-old right-hander tossed 4.2 innings of one-hit, no-earned-run ball.
German struck out eight in his outing and did not walk a batter in the no-decision. He was selected in the 11th round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Seattle University.
German has flown under the radar for Delmarva. In five games and four starts, the Washington native has a 1.31 ERA in 20.2 innings pitched and has only given up nine hits, walking seven batters while striking out 26. He has a .125 average against and a WHIP of 0.77 this season.
All-Around MVP: Maxwell Costes – INF
The top player of the series was hands down Maxwell Costes, who technically used this series as a rehab assignment while battling back from injury.
The Baltimore native played in five games and slashed .471/.526/.471 with a .997 OPS. He collected eight hits, all singles, with four RBIs and two stolen bases in two attempts.
This was Costes’ second week back from injury, and he looks better than he did in 2023. The 24-year-old has 11 hits this season in 10 games and has four RBIs and four walks. He has a .792 OPS with an impressive .344 batting average.
Moment of the Series: Alfredo Velásquez steals a run
During Friday’s win, Alfredo Velásquez quite literally stole a run in an intriguing way. During the bottom of the second with two outs, Velásquez was on second and decided to steal third during a throw-back to the pitcher Julio Marte, who would then throw over the head of third baseman Waner Luciano, allowing Velásquez to take home to make it 3-0 Shorebirds.
The Shorebirds hit the road for their next two series, as they face the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, beginning Tuesday, May 7, with first pitch being at 6:00 p.m. EST. Delmarva looks to hit double digits in wins,cas they are currently 6-20 to start the season.
Who stood out to you for Delmarva this week? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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