Drake and Townsend Headed to Arizona Fall League
September 1, 2010 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Frederick Keys News Release
Frederick, MD - Frederick Keys RHP Oliver Drake and 1B Tyler Townsend are headed to the prestigious Arizona Fall League as part of eight Orioles who will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions when the league commences on October 12th. Keys Pitching Coach Blaine Beatty will be the Scorpions Pitching Coach.
Drake, 23, is just the fourth player ever drafted out of the Naval Academy. The Patriot League strikeouts leader in 2008, Drake was selected in the 43th round and allowed two earned runs in 23 and 2/3rd innings in stops with Rookie Advanced Bluefield and Short Season-A Aberdeen. In 2010, after suffering a shoulder sprain in April, Drake has recovered to go 5-6 with a 4.28 ERA in 23 appearances, 20 of which starts.
Townsend, 22, has fought through a nagging hamstring injury in 2010, showing flashes of the power prospect the Orioles envisioned when selecting him in the third round of the 2009 draft. The reigning Carolina League Player of the Week, Townsend hit 24 home runs while batting .426 in his breakout junior season at Florida International in 2009. Townsend is batting .250 with three home runs and nine RBI's in 13 games with the Keys.
Beatty is in his fourth season as Keys Pitching Coach (2006-08, 2010) and has guided the Frederick staff to a team ERA of 3.95, fourth best in the Carolina League. Just with the Keys, Beatty has guided big league pitchers Jake Arrieta, Brad Bergesen, David Hernandez, Jason Berken, Garrett Olson, Radhames Liz and Jim Hoey. This is Beatty's fifth season in the Orioles organization.
Other Orioles prospects headed to the fall league are position players Ryan Adams (2009), Caleb Joseph (2009) and Greg Miclat (2009-10). Pitchers include Pat Egan (2009), Kam Mickolio and Wynn Pelzer.
The Keys are headed to the Carolina League Playoffs and tickets are currently on-sale. Game One of the Northern Division Championship Series is set for Wednesday, September 8th at 7:00 p.m. from Harry Grove Stadium. Tickets range from $8-11 and can be purchased by calling the Keys Box Office at 1-877-8-GO-KEYS or by visiting online at frederickkeys.com.
• Discuss this story on the Carolina League message board...
Carolina League Stories from September 1, 2010
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - 9/2 - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Comeback Efforts Fall Short for Frederick - Frederick Keys
- Bats Remain Dull as Nats Double up Sox 4-2 - Salem Red Sox
- Crow Fans 13, Rocks Hold off Pelicans - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Crow Dominant as Rocks Prevail - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Kinston Wins Eighth Straight Game, Magic Number Now at Three - Kinston Indians
- Frias and Rooney Keep Nats in First - Potomac Nationals
- Dash Demolishes Lynchburg 10-2 - Winston-Salem Dash
- Dash Down Cats Again in Game Two - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- BB&T Ballpark Named "Ballpark of the Year" - Winston-Salem Dash
- K-Tribe Game Notes - Kinston Indians
- Hosmer and Dwyer Receive Blue Rocks POY Honors - Wilmington Blue Rocks
- Harrilchak Headed to Arizona Fall League - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Seven Former Hillcats to Play in Arizona Fall League - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Drake and Townsend Headed to Arizona Fall League - Frederick Keys
- Gregory Infante Promoted to White Sox - Winston-Salem Dash
- Keys and Giant Food of Landover Team to Fight Hunger - Frederick Keys
- Perez Named to Arizona Fall League Roster - Wilmington Blue Rocks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
