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A 6-4, 217-pound right-hander, Tyler made the elite 24-man USA roster and emerged as one of the stars of the pitching staff. He registered a perfect 3-0 record and a 1.00 ERA in nine innings. The squad went 9-8 during their summer tour, which featured winning a series from Cuba.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Tyler, a rising junior who is expected to be a premium pick in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft next June, said he enjoyed the experience with the USA Team.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “When you play for Georgia and in the SEC, you see a lot of good talent, and the same goes for the Cape Cod League where some of the best guys in college go play summer ball,” Tyler said. “Then, you go play for the USA Team, and it’s awesome. Coach (Fred) Corral encouraged me to learn from all the guys and the coaches with the USA Team and see how I can improve my game. We didn’t have to travel as much this year, so it was nice to hang out and get to know everybody better.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] After being limited to just 23.2 innings this past season for the Bulldogs, Tyler pitched briefly for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod League before reporting to USA Team Camp in mid- June.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “I went up to the Cape to pitch a little and keep my arm in shape, and then on June 18th, I drove to North Carolina, and a couple of days later I started Opening Day for the USA Team, and that was special,” Tyler said. “I pitched in three games for the USA Team with two starts and had a great time.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] Tyler said his most memorable experience was the July 4th start against Cuba in front of a sellout crowd at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte. Tyler pitched four scoreless innings in an 11-1 series-clinching victory in front of 10,352 fans. It matched the largest win over Cuba in national team history. Tyler allowed only a two-out double in his final inning of work.
[su_spacer size=”40″] “That night in Charlotte when we beat Cuba was crazy,” Tyler recalled. “I knew I was going to start, and we were ready to clinch the five-game series. I’d have never been in that park, a Triple-A stadium, and we were in the home team locker room. The stadium was completed packed, and I pitched really well and we won. After the game, we were in the dugout, and they put on like a $40,000 fireworks show for everybody. It was an incredible experience.”
[su_spacer size=”40″] While Tyler’s summer baseball season is over, a handful of Bulldogs are still playing in various wood bat leagues across the country. For example, rising senior shortstop Nick King, a native of Palm Springs, Calif., has been named an all-star in the California Collegiate League (CCL). The CCL All-Star game will be broadcast live tonight at 10 ET on Fox Sports West from the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Here’s how some of the Bulldogs are doing around the country this summer:
[su_spacer size=”40″] Heath Holder, Lexington County Blowfish (Coastal Plain)
– 1-1, 2.73 ERA in six starts, tallying 33 innings with 32 strikeouts including a no-hitter (the first in the CPL since 2013).
[su_spacer size=”40″] Nick King, San Luis Obispo Blues (California Collegiate)
– Batting .279 with eight doubles, 15 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 29 games.
– Selected to play in the CCL All-Star Game, July 15, 10 pm ET (Fox Sports West)
[su_spacer size=”40″] Trey Logan, Lima Locos (Great Lakes)
– Batting .195 with two RBI and four stolen bases in 15 games
[su_spacer size=”40″] Daniel Nichols, Newport Gulls (New England Collegiate)
-Appeared in seven games with 16 at-bats and hit .125-0-1
[su_spacer size=”40″] Henry Rowling, Lima Locos (Great Lakes)
– Batting .326 with one home run and eight RBI in 15 games
[su_spacer size=”40″] Bo Tucker, Falmouth Commodores (Cape Cod)
– 0-1, 3.75 ERA in five games including three starts, posting nine strikeouts in 12 innings
[su_spacer size=”40″] Mitchell Webb, Peninsula Pilots (Coastal Plain)
– Batting .122 with six RBI in 17 games including 11 starts
[su_spacer size=”40″] Skyler Weber, Peninsula Pilots (Coastal Plain)
– Started all 35 games and hitting .305 with six home runs, 25 RBI and 19 stolen bases
[su_spacer size=”40″] Stephen Wrenn, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (Cape Cod)
– Batting .279 with three home runs, 11 RBI and five stolen bases in 28 games