Tascosa graduate Tucker Davidson made his Triple A debut for the Gwinnett Stripers of the Atlanta Braves farm system Saturday. [Matt Bufano/ Press Pass Sports]
Tascosa graduate Tucker Davidson made the most of his recent promotion.
Davidson, the Atlanta Braves’ 13th-ranked prospect, had a strong showing in his Class Triple-A debut for the Gwinnett Stripers of the International League on Saturday night.
The 6-foot-2, 215 pound southpaw threw five innings, allowing two hits, four strikeouts and one unearned run.
Even though he didn’t fare in the 3-1 losing decision against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders, Davidson was happy with his performance.
“It didn’t hit me until the morning I was getting ready to pitch,” Davidson said. “I was pretty nervous to start, but after the first pitch, it was the same game. Just different balls, different hitters. I just focused on executing pitches, and keeping balls on the ground.”
Davidson was called up to Gwinnett early last week, thanks to turning heads throughout Atlanta’s organization all season as a member of Class Double-A’s Mississippi Braves.
The 23-year old found his stride on the hill, as one of the more dominating pitchers in the Southern League.
In 21 starts for Mississippi, Davidson was 7-6 over 110.2 innings with a league-leading 2.03 ERA, and was fifth in the league in strikeouts.
“It was special to get the call,” said Davidson, who is in his third full season of professional baseball. “It’s good to be pitching well and get promoted. I look at myself and the guys around me, and I know I have the stuff to belong here.
As for the hitters at the Triple-A level, Davidson knows this is going to be a new challenge.
“The hitters’ approaches are much different at this level,” Davidson said. “They don’t chase, and they all have a plan. Usually in Double-A, when you throw a fastball, they are swinging. These guys are patient, a lot of them have played in the Bigs and know what it takes to get there.
“They want to work a count more,” added Davidson. “They want to see how you throw behind in the count or how good your curve is.”
Davidson makes his next start for the Stripers against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at 6:05 p.m. on Friday at Coolray Field in Gwinnett.