Tyler Pastornicky

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Tyler Brock Pastornicky

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Biographical Information[edit]

Tyler Pastornicky is the son of major leaguer Cliff Pastornicky and the grandson of Ernest Pastornicky.

Pastornicky was picked by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round of the 2008 amateur draft. He had a college commitment to Florida State University but was signed by scout Joel Grampietro for the Jays instead. With the GCL Blue Jays that year, he hit .263/.349/.356 and stole 27 bases in 32 tries. He fielded .962, leading all shortstops in the Gulf Coast League.

Pastornicky split 2009 between the Lansing Lugnuts (.269/.336/.346 in 109 G, 51 SB in 66 tries) and the Dunedin Blue Jays (.270/.303/.317 in 15 G). Overall, he stole 57 bases. He was second in the Midwest League in steals behind only Dee Gordon, the league MVP. He fielded .951 overall at short. Back with Dunedin to start 2010, he was hitting .258/.348/.376 after 77 games with 50 runs and 24 swipes in 31 attempts. He was then traded with Tim Collins and Alex Gonzalez to the Atlanta Braves for Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes. He finished the year with the AA Mississippi Braves, hitting .254 in 38 games.

He was called up to the active roster of the Atlanta Braves prior to the final game of the 2011 season but did not get into the game. He had started the year back at Mississippi, hitting .299 in 90 games, then was blazing-hot after a late-season promotion to the AAA Gwinnett Braves. In 27 games in the International League, he hit .365 with 15 runs, to end the year with a combined .314 average in 117 games, with 65 runs and 45 RBI. After the season, the Braves elected not to re-sign their shortstop, Alex Gonzalez for 2012, leaving the job open for Tyler, although they did sign veteran Jack Wilson as insurance in case the 22-year-old proved not to be ready to handle everyday duties at the major league level. He hit his first major league homer off the Houston Astros' Kyle Weiland on April 10th.

He represented the United States in the 2015 Premier 12.

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