Ty Van Dyke Keeps Dealing in Scoreless Frames

The Cardinal Chronicle
Pitcher of the Day
Ty Van Dyke Keeps Dealing in Scoreless Frames
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur

Quietly — and that word may not apply much longer — Ty Van Dyke is putting together one of the best early-season runs by any pitcher in the Cardinals’ minor league system.

Saturday night, the right-hander delivered another gem for the Palm Beach Cardinals, firing 5.0 scoreless innings in an eventual 8-7 comeback victory over St. Lucie.

The outing lowered his earned-run total for the season to… still zero.

Nineteen and one-third innings.

Zero earned runs allowed.

That’s dominance, plain and simple.

Every level of baseball teaches pitchers one hard truth: hitters eventually force adjustments. Early success gets tested. Command gets challenged. Mistakes get punished.

Van Dyke has answered every challenge so far.

He’s worked efficiently. He’s attacked hitters. He’s kept innings under control. Most importantly, he’s given Palm Beach a chance to win every time he’s taken the ball — and that’s the first job of any starter.

Old baseball men call that being a stopper.

The guy who settles a club down.

The guy teammates trust.

The guy managers circle every fifth day.

At 15-5, Palm Beach has become one of the hottest clubs in minor league baseball, and while their offense deserves credit for dramatic late-game heroics, the foundation of winning baseball is still pitching.

Van Dyke is helping build that foundation.

It’s early, yes.

But early doesn’t mean meaningless.

When a young arm stacks scoreless inning upon scoreless inning, people notice.

And if he keeps this up, they’ll be noticing all the way to St. Louis.

The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports