When explaining the composure of incoming Maryland baseball left-hander Tyler Blohm, Baltimore Redbirds coach Larry Sheets highlights the night of July 15.

The Redbirds played Bethesda Big Train in a battle between the two best teams in the Cal Ripken League, and Sheets said Blohm “probably didn’t have his best stuff.” The Millersville native allowed two runs in the first inning and loaded the bases in the next frame. The Big Train then strung together two hits in the fourth.

The Redbirds lost, 4-3, but Blohm worked through his struggles, allowing two earned runs on four hits over six innings.

It’s Blohm’s mental approach on mound, along with his physical attributes, that Sheets said puts the 2016 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year in contention to make an immediate impact with the Terps in his rookie campaign.

“He could come in and probably be a Sunday starter. He has that ability,” Sheets said. “That’s my opinion. I’m not putting words in coach [John] Szefc’s mouth. I’m just saying from what I see.”

As the Redbirds’ lone rising freshman, Blohm, a Cal Ripken League All-Star, has a 2.07 ERA and 26 strikeouts through 26 innings.

His performance with the Redbirds, who start a best-of-three championship series with the Big Train on Thursday night, is the latest accomplishment in what’s been an impressive summer.

In early June, the Baltimore Orioles selected Blohm in the 17th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. But on July 15, the deadline for amateur draft picks to sign a contract, the 6-foot-3 southpaw chose to continue his development at the college ranks.

“I knew that [the Terps] were going to stay strong for my development and everything,” Blohm said. “In my junior year, I think, I’ll be able to get drafted again, hopefully. That’s my goal. And then maybe go for a higher amount because I’ll be more developed.”

Sheets saw Blohm’s pitching ability for years as the baseball coach at Gilman in Baltimore. His scouting report for the Archbishop Spalding product was a “plus” fastball, one Blohm threw between 87 and 90 miles per hour, and a “plus, plus” off-speed pitch.

“His breaking ball is a college curveball already from what I’ve been able to see,” Sheets said. “Our approach against him was, ‘You can’t hit it, so let’s try to hit the fast ball first and see what happens.'”

Blohm said playing in the Cal Ripken League has been beneficial because he’s had to pitch against college players.

His fastball doesn’t blow by as many hitters as it did in high school, so Blohm has worked intricacies such as throwing off-speed pitches in hitters’ counts and trusting his secondary options.

“You got to learn to pitch,” Blohm said. “Really think about what they would be expecting and throw the complete opposite to keep them off balance.”

And throughout the entire process, the Terps have supported Blohm.

Szefc began to follow Blohm between his sophomore and junior year in high school, and he saw the lefty turn himself into a “major guy” the second half of his senior year.

The fourth-year coach said during a phone interview July 15 he probably watched Blohm pitch for the Redbirds at least five times. When Blohm was deciding between joining the Terps and going professional, he said Szefc called him almost every day, reaffirming how much the program wanted to retain its top recruit.

Szefc isn’t sure how Blohm will fit into the Maryland rotation, though he said Blohm’s physical attributes would allow him to play a “significant role” as a freshman. His observations from Blohm’s Cal Ripken League performance have validated his proposition.

“He’s getting over a high school career, yet he’s been able to function in that league,” Szefc said. “His personality and approach are just as important to his success as his physical tools.”