Seattle Mariner Tyler Locklear, an Archbishop Curley grad, impressing in spring training
PEORIA, ARIZONA – Over 12 games and 23 plate appearances in his first full major league spring training camp, former Archbishop Curley baseball star Tyler Locklear is making a nice impression with the Seattle Mariners.
Locklear, selected by the Mariners in the second round of the 2022 Major League Baseball Draft (No. 55 overall), after a brilliant college career at Virginia Commonwealth University, has seven hits and a walk thus far in the Cactus League. He his hitting .333 with three doubles and three RBI and is given an outside shot of making Seattle’s opening day roster, despite not having played above Class AA thus far.
With a strong spring training thus far, Tyler Locklear is making a bid for a spot on the Seattle Mariners opening day roster. Regardless of that outcome, Locklear, the Mariners No. 8 rated prospect who once starred at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, appears to have bright future ahead.
Rated as the Mariners No. 8 overall prospect, Locklear was drafted as a third-baseman, but is making the transition to first-base. In 2022, he played two games in Rookie ball before spending the majority of the season at Class A Modesto in the California League where he batted .282 with seven home runs, five doubles and 29 RBI in 29 games. Last year, he spent time at three different levels, finishing up at AA Arkansas in the Texas League. For the season, he hit .288 with 13 home runs, 25 doubles, a triple and 52 RBI in 85 games. He also walked 55 times and finished with a .907 OPS.
At VCU he was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2021 as he set the school record for home runs by a freshman with 16. He would go on to become a two-time All-American for the Rams while leading the team to back-to-back Atlantic 10 titles. His 37 career home runs are tied for the most in VCU history.
In high school he was a 2018 Under Armour All-American while playing at Archbishop Curley. He helped lead the Friars to the 2018 MIAA A Conference championship as a junior and was named All-MIAA three times, as well as All-Metro and All-State.
In 2018, as a high school junior, Tyler Locklear was key member of Archbishop Curley's MIAA A Conference baseball championship team. He was also named an Under Armour All-American in the summer of 2018 before going on to a record-breaking college career at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Photo by Gary Adornato
