A look at how all four Baltimore Orioles Minor League affilates performed this past week
It was a fun week in the Orioles' Minor League system last week. Here is an in-depth look at how each Orioles affiliate performed.
AAA Norfolk Tides

A week after taking a 6-game road series against the Nashville Sounds 4-2, the Tides invaded Memphis and took care of the Red Birds, beating them 4-2 as well. Their wins were high-scoring efforts, outscoring Memphis 41-16 in those four wins and indicating that the bats are heating up again. In the 12-4 win on Friday, Billy Cook and Coby Mayo both went 3-for-5 with Cook collecting a double and 4 RBI and Mayo getting his 12th homer of the season. The pitching did its part too, holding Memphis to just 22 runs in the entire series while striking out 53 Red Birds and forcing them to leave 44 runners on base. Orioles No. 8 prospect Chayce McDermott had a notable performance on Thursday, going 5 innings while striking 8 and walking just one batter. That shows improvement in McDermott's command of the zone as he works on cutting down the walks. Otherwise, he remains a strikeout machine much like his fellow Tides arms.
Norfolk is back in the top five of the International League standings, sitting at 20-19 which is good enough for fourth place and 7.5 games behind the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. Here are three notable performers from the Memphis series.
UT Billy Cook: the recently promoted newcomer is already making his name known in Tides nation just as he did in Bowie. He helped his case this week by going 6-for-20 (.300) with 7 RBI, 6 walks, and a home run in the series finale.
IF Nick Maton: the 27-year-old was recently activated off the IL for the Tides, and he has made a big splash since returning. He went 10-for-23 (.434) against Memphis, had a 5-hit game on Friday, and is now batting .353 with a 1.043 OPS this season.
LHP Tucker Davidson: the southpaw got into 2 games (3.2 innings) for Norfolk last week. He did not allow a run and struck out 4 batters along the way. He has a 2.95 ERA for Norfolk this season and has proven a aluable depth piece waiting for a call to the show.
Norfolk returns home this week for a 6-game series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies AAA). Purchase tickets here.
AA Bowie Baysox

The Baysox knew the tough task at hand this past week in the form of the first place Akron Rubberducks. This was a chance for them to gain some ground on the Rubberducks in the Eastern League standings Though they did not win the series, things could have gone far worse and they will certainly take a 3-3 series tie with the Rubberducks as opposed to a series loss. The series was highlighted by a brutal 17-1 anihilation of the Rubberducks in the series opener last Tuesday. That night, rehabbing Orioles outfielder Austin Hays went 2-for-3 with a massive home run, while top prospect outfielder Jud Fabian had himself a night by going 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI. The defense got to show off a bit throughout the series as well thanks to some incredible catches rom Donta' Williams and Fabian. Let's also credit the pitching which struck out 73 batters in the entire series and held Akron to just 24 runs the entire series.
Bowie is now 17-15, just 3.5 games behind first place in the Eastern League. Here are three notable performers from last week's series draw.
OF Austin Hays: the 2023 All-Star ended up going 5-for-14 (.357) with 2 HR and 3 RBI in his 5-game rehab stint for Bowie. He certainly gave Baysox fans a ton to cheer about and he now returns to the Orioles after being activated off the IL.
OF Jud Fabian: the Orioles No. 12 prospect showed off with both the bat and the glove this week. He had a 4-hit performance in the series opener (2 HR, 5 RBI) and then had an incredible diving catch in the outfield on Friday.
RHP Alex Pham: the righty had two great starts against Akron last week. His best start came on Tuesday when he tossed 5 innings of one run ball, striking out 6 along the way and walking none.
Bowie is on the road this week for a 6-game road trip to theBinghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets AA).
A+ Aberdeen Ironbirds

Aberdeen is heating up as indicated by their recent 5-1 series win against the Hudson Valley Renegades. The series was defined by close contests, some clutch-hitting from the Ironbirds, and some help from shaky Renegades defense. The team went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position during Saturday's 6-5 win, and they left just 7 runners on base. Elio Prado's solo home run in the 7th inning of Thursday's game propelled the Ironbrds' 4-3 win that night. Two games were won for Aberdeen thanks to throwing errors from two different Renegdades catchers.
The Ironbirds are now 18-15, they are 7-5 in their last 12 games, and they are now tied for third place in the South Atlantic League with the Rome Emperors (Braves A+). Here are three standout performers for the Ironbirds from last week's series win.
OF Elio Prado: the 22-year-old's 2-for-3 performance on Friday, which included the go-ahead home run and 4 RBI, helped propell the Ironbirds to victory that night.
C Randy Florentino: the backstop acted as the designated hitter on Saturday and put together a 2-for-3 performance with 3 RBI. He is batting .275 this season for the Ironbirds.
RHP Moices Chace: the young righty baffled Hudson Valley in two starts (6.2 IP) this past week. He worked to the tune of 10 punchouts and just 2 walks in those two starts combined.
Aberdeen hits the road this week for a 6-game series at the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals A+).
A- Delmarva Shorebirds

Things have improved jurastically for the Shorebirds. They tied their 6-game series with Kannapolis and are now 6-4 in their last 10 games. The offense has picked it up during the Kannapolis series as they collected 48 hits while scoring 25 runs. Their 9-2 win on Wednesday saw them go 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position, collect 15 hits, and put up 29 total bases.
Delmarva is still in last place in the Carolina League as they sit at 9-23. However, with their recent winning ways, that record could improve significantly soon. here are three key performers for the 'Birds this past week.
OF Braylin Tavara: the Orioles No. 13 prospect played in just 3 games last week but he made the most of his opportunities. He went 6-for-12 (.500) with a triple, 4 RBI, and 2 walks.
IF Angel Tejada: the 20-year old versatile infielder went 7-for-22 (.318) with a homer and 4 RBI in the series.
IF Aron Estrada: this 19-year-old is heating up for Delmarva. He went 10-for-21 (.476) in the Kannapolis series and is now batting .417 in the month of May. He entered this month batting just .155 but his stellar performance in May has bumped that average up to .243. What an incredible hot stretch this young man has been on!
Delmarva hits the road this week for a 6-game set at the Lynchburg Hillcats.
Comments