A few O’s prospects were sent packing as part of deadline trades, but those who stayed delivered some fine performances.
Here on Camden Chat, in addition to our daily minor league coverage, we’ll be stepping back every Tuesday morning to look at the bigger picture across a whole week of results and how the team’s prospects are faring so far. Most of the focus will be on players from Camden Chat’s composite top O’s prospects list, with mentions of some standout efforts from players who could be ranked on a future list.
The minor league affiliates were off from July 15-18 during the MLB All-Star break, so this week’s recap will cover the 10 days since they returned to action July 19.
Triple-A Norfolk Tides
- Past ten days: 5-4 (2-1 vs. Nashville, 3-3 vs. Jacksonville)
- Coming week: at Charlotte Knights (12-12 second half, White Sox)
- Second-half record: 13-13, tied for fifth place (4.0 GB) in International League East
He often gets overshadowed in a Norfolk lineup that’s been loaded with top-shelf prospects this season, but is Billy Cook having a good year or what? The 25-year-old outfielder wasn’t ranked among the Orioles’ top 30 prospects before the season, but he has done nothing but hit in his 70 games at Triple-A, slashing .279/.372/.485 with 11 home runs. He’s been particularly Cooking of late, with four consecutive multi-hit games and three dingers in his last six. Cook doesn’t project as an everyday player in the bigs but is at least making a case for a utility role, or perhaps as a trade sweetener.
That’s TWO Billy Bombs!! Norfolk is PILING ON and leads 8-0#DefendtheHarbor pic.twitter.com/l1E9aC1nll
— Norfolk Tides (@NorfolkTides) July 21, 2024
Speaking of trade candidates, Kyle Stowers continues to hit well in his latest stint at Norfolk, with a homer and six RBIs since going back down July 20. Baseball’s #1 prospect, Jackson Holliday, had two homers and two doubles in his last nine games, but also led the club with 10 strikeouts. Coby Mayo (#3) has been quieter of late, with just one dinger and a .629 OPS in his last nine, but that shouldn’t prevent him from receiving an MLB promotion soon. Of note, perhaps, is that six of his last eight starts have come at first base after 53 of his previous 65 were at third.
No Tides pitchers have been particularly exceptional since the All-Star break, and several of the starters were limited to abbreviated outings. Justin Armbruester (#20) gave up only one run in seven innings but was lucky to do so, considering he walked nine. Lefty Tucker Davidson delivered a quality start (six innings, one run) and a less-quality relief appearance (three innings, three runs). And Cade Povich (#9) gave up five runs in seven innings before getting summoned back to Baltimore for yesterday’s doubleheader, which did not go particularly well.
Double-A Bowie Baysox
- Past ten days: 3-6 (1-2 vs. Hartford, 2-4 at Akron)
- Coming week: vs. Somerset Patriots (16-11 second half, Yankees)
- Second-half record: 11-16, tied for third place (8.0 GB) in Eastern League Southwest
A lot of swinging and missing has been going on for Baysox hitters since the break. Over this 10-day stretch, they’ve struck out 92 times, and each of their 13 hitters has struck out more than they’ve walked. That includes the now-departed Matthew Etzel, who struck out four times during a 4-for-20 week before being traded to the Rays in the Zach Eflin deal.
Outfield prospects Dylan Beavers (#8) and Jud Fabian (#14) each homered twice, as did third baseman Ryan Higgins. The Orioles’ #2 prospect Samuel Basallo had just five hits (including a homer) in 29 at-bats, but did walk five times, tying for the team lead. He also showed flashed some defense behind the plate.
Just your usual 2F, 2-6 inning-ending double play… pic.twitter.com/ZvABhskQcv
— Bowie Baysox (@BowieBaysox) July 27, 2024
The most interesting pitcher on the Bowie roster, Seth Johnson (#11), had two strong outings, working a total of eight innings with just one run allowed. Johnson has made 18 starts this year but the O’s have yet to push him longer than five innings in any of them. He lowered his season ERA to 2.63 with a .219 batting average against. It seems as if the 25-year-old Johnson, who’s already on the 40-man roster, is ready for the next level.
Another guy making a bid to move up the ladder is right-hander Peter Van Loon. His 2023 season at Bowie was a lousy one — a 6.04 ERA in 18 games — but the 25-year-old has been much better this year, allowing just one run in 15.1 innings since rejoining the club July 5. He racked up 13 strikeouts in seven innings over his last 10 days. Right-hander Houston Roth also had double digit strikeouts, fanning 10 in six innings of relief.
High-A Aberdeen IronBirds
- Past ten days: 4-5 (1-2 vs. Wilmington, 3-3 at Jersey Shore)
- Coming week: vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (12-18 second half, Mets)
- Second-half record: 16-14, tied for second place (2.0 GB) in South Atlantic League North
A pair of top-15 Orioles prospects departed from Bowie’s roster as Mac Horvath (#12) and Jackson Baumeister (#15 tied) went to Tampa Bay with Etzel in the Eflin trade. Baumeister, the Orioles’ 63rd overall pick in the 2023 draft, finished his IronBirds career with a 3.06 ERA and 11.6 K/9 in 18 starts, albeit with a concerning 5.5 BB/9 rate. I’m sure the Rays will develop him into a future ace, because that’s what the Rays do. Horvath, meanwhile, was slashing .232/.328/.417 with nine homers in 71 games, plus 26 steals in 27 attempts. He was the Orioles’ second-round pick last year.
As for their first-round pick, Enrique Bradfield Jr. (#6) is still going strong, and he’s hit well since the break, reaching base 13 times on nine hits and four walks. He doubled thrice and was a perfect five-for-five in stolen base attempts, reaching the 50-steal mark for the year.
On the mound, right-hander Zach Fruit gave a particularly sweet performance, tossing 9.2 scoreless, one-hit innings in two games. The 2023 ninth-round pick has a 3.17 ERA and .208 opponents’ batting average in 18 games (14 starts) while striking out better than a batter per inning. At 24, he’s about a year old for the league, so perhaps Fruit is ripe for a promotion. And a hat tip to righty Preston Johnson, who threw six scoreless innings as well.
Low-A Delmarva Shorebirds
- Past ten days: 4-5 (2-1 vs. Down East, 2-4 at Fredericksburg)
- Coming week: vs. Myrtle Beach Pelicans (14-15 second half, Cubs)
- Second-half record: 13-17, tied for last place (7.0 GB) in Carolina League North
Should we be paying more attention to Aron Estrada? The 19-year-old has racked up 13 hits in eight games since the break, batting .406 in that span, to raise his season line to .298/.359/.440. He’s been doing a little bit of everything offensively, stealing 28 bases and hitting eight homers, and has been a jack of all trades in the field as well, making at least two starts at every position except first base and catcher. The O’s signed Estrada as an amateur out of Venezuela in 2022.
On the subject of under-the-radar guys, how about Nestor German? The right-hander, 21, hurled 8.1 scoreless innings this week, striking out 11, to continue his fantastic first pro season: 1.49 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, .179 batting average against, 10.6 K/9 and just 2.6 BB/9 in 14 games (12 starts). And this from an 11th-round pick who had a 6.37 ERA in his three seasons at Seattle University. The Orioles obviously saw some potential in German despite his college stats, and the early returns are promising.
Florida Complex League
The FCL season came to an end last Thursday, earlier than in previous years, with the FCL Orioles finishing with a 23-36 record. A couple of ranked O’s hitting prospects, Luis Almeyda (#19) and Joshua Liranzo (#25 tied) spent the season at this level, and neither did much to bolster their prospect stock. Almeyda batted .200/.337/.316 in 53 games and Liranzo went .220/.349/.264, with the two combining for just 11 extra-base hits in 299 PAs.
FCL Orioles final season stats
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Our last player of the week poll two weeks ago was won by Connor Norby, the only hitter among the candidates, who beat out four pitchers for his first win of the year. The O’s promoted Norby to the majors shortly afterward. I’m not saying they called him up because he won our poll, but I’m not not saying that, either. Norby joins fellow winners Etzel, Povich, Chayce McDermott, Fabian, Beavers, Kyle Brnovich, Basallo, Cook, Estrada, and Mayo, along with Heston Kjerstad, our only two-time winner.