Matt Davenport had to work for what he got as a baseball player at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, and that experience has served him well as a professional pitcher competing in the ranks of the Detroit Tigers’ minor league teams.

He said his experience since being drafted by the Tigers in the 34th round of Major League Baseball’s 2012 First-Year Player Draft has been everything he could have asked for.

“This is what you want to do when you play baseball,” he said. “I’ve been blessed to be given this opportunity.”

Davenport has shown promise all three years as a pro. This year has included his first stint on the West Michigan Whitecaps, the Class A minor league affiliate of the Tigers.

With 26 appearances and 59.1 innings pitched, Davenport has a 2.58 earned run average, 5-2 record, three saves, 50 strikeouts and only 14 walks.

“I’ve been pretty happy with the way that I’ve pitched so far this year,” he said.

Also pleased is Whitecaps manager Andrew Graham, who has more than a passing familiarity with Davenport, having coached him previously on the Tigers’ Class A short-season team, the Connecticut Tigers.

Graham noted Davenport is a submarine pitcher, which means he throws the ball with his arm positioned a little lower than it would be for a sidearm throw.

“There’s not too many of them in the game of baseball,” Graham said of submarine pitchers, let alone those that stand 6-feet-8-inches tall.

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy coach David Mitchell, who coached Davenport when he played with the Peninsula Pilots in 2010, said the combination of Davenport’s height and the movement in his pitches is particularly intimidating to right-handed batters.

Davenport has been establishing his reputation as a talented pitcher for some time now.

“If you go back to his time at William & Mary and his days with the Pilots, when he pitched for the Pilots, Matt’s been dominant,” Mitchell said.

He went 3-0 in limited time with the Pilots and finished his career at the College of William & Mary by earning Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher of the Year honors. In his senior season with the Tribe, he led the CAA in ERA (1.73), opponent batting average (.210), innings pitched (109.1) and strikeouts (90).

Despite his great success, Davenport still remembers an important lesson he learned in high school, where making the team was not a given.

“I was never a shoo-in at NSA, but I’ve always taken that as my opportunity to prove that I can work hard,” he said.

Since becoming a pro, he has transitioned from being a starter to often the first reliever out of the bullpen.

He said his ultimate highlight so far this year came in an epic May 5 home game against the Lake County Captains that went into extra innings.

“I was fortunate enough to pitch five innings in extras and keep the game close,” he said, as the Whitecaps won 4-3 in 18 innings. He threw six strikeouts in the contest.

Graham said he definitely thinks Davenport has the potential to continue moving up as a pro.