Townsend Honored as Florida League MVP
DELAND, Fla.- DeLand Suns outfielder Mark Townsend (Stetson) has been named the 2019 Florida League Most Valuable Player, as selected by the coaches and staff of the FCSL. Townsend is the second DeLand Sun in franchise history to be named the top player in the league, joining Austin Hays, who won the award in 2014 and went on to play for the Baltimore Orioles.
Following his freshman season at Stetson, where Townsend played in 51 games for the Hatters with 37 starts, the outfielder immediately became a mainstay in the lineup for Rick Hall's tenth DeLand team. Townsend was one of only three players in the league to play in every game, and was the only player to play in 40 games on the season.
Townsend posted one of the most prolific seasons in Suns' history, helping the team to their second consecutive Florida League Championship Series. The Stetson Hatter set franchise records in games played (40), home runs (7), runs scored (33), and total bases (83). His 83 total bases ranked second in Florida League single-season history.
The Sarasota, Florida native ranked among the top five players in the FCSL in nearly every major offensive category, including leading the league in runs scored (33), hits (49), total bases (83), walks drawn (30), and on base percentage (.461). For the season, the outfielder hit .340 with 30 runs batted in, and led the Suns with 13 stolen bases as well.
Townsend's signature performance of the season came at Lake Minneola High School against the Winter Garden Squeeze on July 1. That night, Townsend became the first player in the FCSL in over a decade to belt three home runs in a game. The Stetson Hatter went 4-for-4 with five runs scored, five runs batted in, and 13 total bases in DeLand's 14-12 victory over the Squeeze, which also saw the Suns break the league record for home runs in a game (8).
Consistently, Townsend was the lynchpin to a DeLand offense that was among the best in the Florida League. DeLand's starting left fielder in every game of the season posted 13 multi-hit efforts, including four straight from June 1-June 5. He also reached base in every game of the Suns' playoff run, and drove in a run in four of the five games.
His efforts for the Suns during the 2019 season led him to selections to the 2019 Florida League All-Star Game and the 2019 Southeast Collegiate Prospect Showcase. Townsend reached base twice in the All-Star Game, and drove in a run for the Florida League in the Prospect Showcase at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, North Carolina.
Townsend is expected to be in contention for national recognition, as well. Multiple national publications name Summer Collegiate All-America teams, an honor that has been received by previous DeLand Suns Jesus Valoy (2018) and Jay Hayes (2016), who were both named Honorable Mention selections by Perfect Game USA and Rawlings.
