Sebastian Vader: Past, Present, and a Promising Future
I have watched many baseball games in my life, and I have seen many great pitching performances. Most of these gems have been tossed by major league aces; I have witnessed guys like Chris Tillman, Jeremy Guthrie, Andy Pettite, and Stephen Strasburg overwhelm and overpower opponent lineups. However, one dominating performance that stands out was not thrown by an all-star. It was not even thrown by a major leaguer. It was the night of September 6th, as Ripken Stadium was hosting its first playoff game. The Aberdeen IronBirds were taking on the Tri-City ValleyCats, The pitcher? Sebastian Vader.
Vader was absolutely dazzling, tossing 8.1 scoreless innings in front of many loyal Aberdeen fans who had been waiting years for the IronBirds to make the postseason. Tri-City hitters were off-balance and confused all night. Vader and battery-mate Austin Wynns were both spot on; Wynns called a great game and Vader hit his spots. Aberdeen ended up losing the game 1-0, but that did not ruin Vader’s spectacular performance.
This year, the 19th-round pick back in 2010 has been solid for Delmarva. He has logged more innings than any other Shorebird, and he has pitched to a 3.06 ERA over five starts. With the exception of top-pick Hunter Harvey, Vader has been Delmarva’s best starter.
Vader is still young, as he was drafted out of high school. He will continue to work his way up the organization, and there is a very good chance he will find himself pitching for Frederick by the end of the year. He has been extremely impressive, although the Orioles have not rushed him up the ladder. If he continues to pitch well, it is not unreasonable to think that he could wind up as a long reliever or even a fourth or fifth starter in the Majors.
