Pastornicky was originally drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. He came to the Braves organization along with shortstop Alex Gonzalez when they traded Yunel Escobar to Toronto. He made his major league debut this past season as the Braves' opening day shortstop.
Pastornicky had a decent first season in the big leagues. He hit pretty good but struggled defensively at shortstop and that caused the Braves to demote him back to the minor leagues. He was there for a month and a half until he got called back up in the middle of July and stuck around for the rest of the year. Through the months of August and September though, he only managed to get two hits.
Pastornicky did enjoy some firsts as a rookie. He hit his first major league home run in Houston against the Astros on April 10th. He also had a couple of three hit games during the year, one on April 24th against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the other on May 2nd against the Philadelphia Phillies. He finished the season batting .243 with two home runs and thirteen RBI's.
Pastornicky will be around with the Braves next season, whether it's in Atlanta or in the minor leagues remains to be seen. He will have to have a strong showing in spring training to earn a spot on the roster, likely being the primary back up to Andrelton Simmons. He also has been learning how to play second base, third base and the corner outfield spots to increase his value as a utility player.
Tyler Pastornicky could become a valuable bench player for the Atlanta Braves in 2013.
Photo Courtesy of images.yahoo.com
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