A look at how all four Baltimore Orioles Minor League affilates performed this past week
*Cover Photo Credit: Kate Kirsch
June has come to an end, and so has the first half of Minor League Baseball. Let's look at how each team wrapped up the month in addition to where each team stands in their division after the conclusion of the first half.
AAA Norfolk Tides
This is an awkward situation because technially, the series between the Tides and the Charlotte Knights is not over. Sunday's series finale was suspended in the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied at 4. The two teams will complete the game on July 30 but as of right now, the Knights lead the series 3-2. It was somewhat of a back-and-forth scenario between the two teams. After both losig and being outscored 10-6 in the first two games, the Tides exploded for a 14-4 10-hit win in which they exploded for four home runs which came from Kyle Stowers, David Banuelos, No. 23 prospect Hudson Haskin, and No. 3 prospect Coby Mayo. Newcomer and big league veteran Garrett Cooper debuted with a 3-RBI showing, and No. 6 prospect Connor Norby added 2 RBI of his own. The Tides were 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position that day. In addition, Orioles righty Dean Kremer went 4.1 innings in his second rehab start, allowing 4 runs. As previously mentioned, it was back-and-forth throughout the series, and the Knights came back with a 9-2 win over the Tides the following night. That was propelled by a horrendous outing by former Braves stalwart Julio Teheran, who's 7-run 0.2 inning start utimately led to hs release from the team over the weekend as indicated by the team's transaction portal. Returning to more positive news, No. 2 prospect Justin Armbruester had a rebound outing on Saturday as he led the Tides to a 1-0 win in extras with with 6 shutout innings, thus paving way for a walk-off wild pitch to occur in the bottom of the 11th.
The Tides and Knights will resume this series on July 30, so we will wait to nominate three standout performers once the series officially concludes. For now, they finish the first half 36-39 and currently sit at 38-42 overall in the eastern division of the International League. They'll start a 6-game split series tonight with the Durham Bulls (Rays AAA) with the first three games at Harbor Park, then the final three away in Durham.
AA Bowie Baysox
It's something about the Orioles and their affilates against the Phillies and their affiliates in which Orioles magic sings loud and clear. The Baysox wrapped up their up-and-down month of June on a high note with a 4-2 series win over the Reading Fightin' Phils (Phillies AA). They kept things close for the most part as aside from Friday's 10-3 loss, the run differentials for each game remained in between 1-4 runs. This was in large part due to clutch pitching. On Wednesday, Kyle Brnovich yielded just 2 runs over 5 innings while Cody Scroggins, Levi Stoudt, and Nick Richmond backed him up out of the bullpen with a combined 3-inning shutout performance. On Thursday, No. 10 prospect Seth Johnson worked 4 scoreless innings in a start while "Chillin' Dylan" Heid, Dan "Slam The Hammer," and President Lincoln Henzman worked the final five innings allowing just 2 earned runs with 6 strikeouts. No. 16 prospect Trace Bright turned in a quality outing in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader, going 4.2 innings with 7 strikeouts, 2 walks, and just one earned run. The Baysox won this series because of dominant pitching. When their arms are on their A game, they do not need to score a ton of runs to win ballgames, though they would like to, and this series win at Reading was a prime example of what happens when they have lights out pitching ready.
Bowie finishes the first half with a fifth place finish in the southern division of the Eastern League with a 32-36 record. They are 36-38 overall. Here are three standout performers from the series win at Reading.
RHP Kyle Brnovich: the right-hander turned in one of the more quality starts of the series on Wednesday as he needed just 72 pitches (49 strikes) to complete 5 innings of 2-run ball. He struck out 7 along the way and walked just one batter.
RHP Dylan Heid: "Chillin' Dylan" came up clutch out of the bullpen this week with 3 total innings ofwork, allowing just one run ad 2 hits while punching out 4 batters. His season ERA sits at a dazzling 1.24 and his WHIP stands at a dominant 0.94.
C Samuel Basallo: the Orioles' No. 2 prospect had a great wee with thebat, going 4-for-13 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 3 walks. He was a .284 hitter in the month of June.
Bowie begins a split 6-game series with the Richmond Flying Squirrels tonight at home with first pitch being at 6:35 pm. They will play the first three games at home, then they will finish the series thrugh Saturday at Richmond.
A+ Aberdeen Ironbirds
The Ironbirds did battle with the Brookyln Cyclones (Mets A+) last week and basically walked all over them, winning the series 5-1. The bats exploded all week for the 'Birds as they scored a combined 37 runs in 6 games on a whopping 49 hits. Many Ironbirds had great weeks all around and/or memorable moments. The main moment of the week was Tavian Josenberger's walk-off 3-run home run that completed the Ironbirds' 11-10 comeback victory and furthered their reputation as a comeback "never give up" team. Reed Trimble had an outstanding night on Tuesday as he went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI in the Ironbirds' 9-2 win. No. 11 prospect Mac Horvath continued his torrential month with a 5-for-1 (.455) 4 RBI showing in three games played. Angel Tejada mashed his first High-A home run on Wednesday, a walk-off home run to finish off an Ironbirds 3-1 win. The Ironbirds swung the bats extremely well throughout the entire series. They gave their pitchers breathing room to work with, and they exited the sereis absolutely deserving of the series win that they collected. That sort of offense wins games.
Aberdeen finishes the first half 34-32, good for third place in the South Atlantic League North. They are 41-34 and the only Orioles affiliate currently above .500. Here are three offensive sluggers who performed well enough last week to receive Learning To Fly weekly recognitions.
OF Reed Trimble: the left-handed swinging outfielder had 6 RBI total throughout the series and had two big games including the 3-for-4 and 4 RBI on Tuesday and a 2-for-4 showing on Sunday. He has an .849 OPS this season.
OF Douglas Hodo III: the 23-year-old Texan had a great week, going 5-for-13 (.385) with a 1.114 OPS, 5 RBI, and 7 walks. Talk about an on-base machine!
IF Mac Horvath: the Orioles' 2023 second rounder had a great three games last week, going 5-for-11 (.455) with 4 RBI, a home run, and 3 runs scored. He tore it up in June, batting .318 with a 1.009 OPS.
Aberdeen remains home for the first half of their upcoming 6-game set with the Greensboro Grasshoppers (Pirates A+) and their top prospect infielder Termarr Johnson. After the first three games are completed at home, they will travel to Greensboro to finish the series. First pitch tonight is at 7:05 pm at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.
A- Delmarva Shorebirds
The Shorebirds stay hot as they have not dropped a series since the first weeek of June and are now 7-5 in their last 12 games after taking the series against the Down East Wood Ducks (Rangers A-) 4-2. Much like the Baysox, the Shirebirds' wins were defined by great starting pitching, or just great pitching in general. On Wednesday, Nestor German and Blake Money worked together for the first seven innings to blank the Wood Ducks, combining to allow just one hit on nine strikeouts. Juan Rojas started Saturday's game and went 4.1 shutout innings, stirking out 7 allong the way. Some great performances with the bats helped propel the Shorebirds throughout the week except for Tuesday and Friday in which they were shuotout both games and we all know that you can't win if you don't score. OF Jake Cunningham went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI on Wednesday, and Aron Estrada had a 3-for-4 day on Saturday. The Shorebirds are finally looking like a collective baseball team, one that is clicking together, working together, and doing all of the fundamental things right to win ballgames. It has been a big turnaround from April and May, and this young and exciting team of new Baby Birds should be very exciting to watc the rest of the way.
Delmarva finishes the first half last in the Carolina League with a 23-42 record. They are 29-45 overall, but with a 6-3 start to the second half and a first place spot with Fredericksburg (Nationals A-) to start the second hlf standings. Here are three standout performers from the series with against Down East.
RHP Blake Money: the righty worked 5 scoreless relief innings behind Nestor german on Wednesday, allowing just one single hit with 6 punchouts and no walks tosupport a great outing.
RHP Juan Rojas: the young starter was efficient on Saturday as the 20-year-old southpaw needed just 56 pitches (42 strikes) to work 4.1 innings with no walks, 2 hits, and 7 strikeouts.
RHP Jacob Cravey: the righty needed just 70 pitches (40 strikes) to complete 4 innings in a start on Sunday that included 7 strikeouts and no hits.
Delmarva has a split 6-game set with the FredNats this week, starting tonight in Fredericksburg. The first three games will be played there, and then both teams will head back to Delmarva to finish the series. First pitch tonight is 6:35 pm.
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