A look at how all four Baltimore Orioles Minor League affilates performed this past week
*Cover Photo Credit: John Topoleski
It was another busy week down on the farm in Birdland. Here's a look at what happened with the Orioles' four Minor League affiliates this past week.
AAA Norfolk Tides
After anihilating the Charlotte Knights (White Sox AAA) the week before, things took a turn for the worse for the Tides this past week against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders (Yankees AAA). They were swept in all six games of the series, they collected just 36 total hits, and they are now on a 7-game losing skid dating back to the series finale against Charlotte. They put up a fight, though, as the series score of 31-17 indicates close contests that were dictated by a slow offense, a lack of timely hitting, and perhaps being just one Tides pitch away from giving the offense a chance.
Amidst a rough week for the Tides, there were still some standout performances on the team. Here are three guys who had great weeks for the Tides.
IF Errol Robinson: the Maryland-native was one of the bright lights in an uncharacteristically slow Norfolk offense this past week. He went 4-for-15 (.267), collected 2 RBIs, walked 3 times, and stole a pair of bases.
P Cade Povich: the Orioles' No. 10 prospect's dominance continued on Saturday. In the Tides' 3-0 loss, Povich tossed five dominant innings with 10 punchouts, and he allowed just one run on one hit. He now has 24 K's in 16.1 innings pitched this season.
P Garrett Stallings: the 26-year-old appeared in two relief outings and allowed just three hits and one run. He had 5 strikeouts and came up clutch out of Buck Britton's bullpen.
The Tides pay visit to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Marlins AAA) this week for a 6-game road series.
AA Bowie Baysox
The Baysox traveled to Hartford, Connecticut to take on the Hartford Yard Goats (Rockies AA). They dropped their first 6-game series of the season, falling to the Yard Goats 4-2. They were shut out twice, they averaged close to an error per game, and the Yard Goats' bats just happened to be hot at the wrong time for the Baysox. Ryan Long got roughed up for 5 runs in 3.2 relief innings on Saturday, and MLB's No. 17 prospect Samuel Basallo went just 5-for-21 (.238) with one RBI the entire series. It's still early in the season, and many players are still trying to find their groove for the season. Even amidst a rough week for the Baysox, let's not jump to conclusions too quick. It is very possible that these guys can heat up within the next few weeks or so.
Here are three players who performed greatly for Bowie during the Hartford series.
C Silas Ardoin: it's been a great start to the season for the prospect catcher. Ardoin is now batting .353 this season after going 4-for-10 (.400) last week with 2 doubles and an RBI.
IF TT Bowens: the power-hitting first baseman cranked his first home run of the season yesterday. He ended up going 7-for-18 (.389) the entire series with 9 RBIs, 3 doubles, and 2 walks. Bowens is amongst several Baysox hitters off to a hot start early in 2024.
P Houston Roth: the 26-year-old righty reliever came up clutch out of Roberto Mercado's bullpen this week. He appeared in two relief outings and tossed 3 innings of one-run ball, striking out 7 in the process.
The Baysox return home this week for a 6-game set against the Altoona Curve (Pirates AA) and their intimidating core of pitching prospects headlined by southpaw Ant Solomento. Purchase tickets for the homestand here (I'll be there!).
A+ Aberdeen Ironbirds
Last week the Ironbirds played their first home series infront of the Ironbirds faithful at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium. They split the series with the Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals A+), outscoring them 33-26 and out-hitting them 45-43. However, they did committ 11 errors including 4 in Wednesday's 6-2 loss, so the defense is an area of improvement for the Ironbirds.
Here are three guys who stepped up this past week and played a big role for the Ironbirds in the first homestand.
C Creed Willems: all that Willems did the entire homestand was mash the ball. The Orioles' No. 29 prospect launched 3 home runs during the series, all while going 6-for-17 with 4 runs nd 9 RBIs. The power stroke is on for 20-year-old Willems early in the season.
P Moises Chace: this 20-year-old from the Domincan Republic shoved all week for Aberdeen. He appeared in 2 games and threw 8 shutout innings while striking out 15 batters. He only allowed 3 hits and 2 walks.
P Yaqui Rivera: the right-hander appeared in 2 games during the Wilmington series. He tossed 3 innings of one-run ball while striking out 5 batters and walking just one batter.
Next is a showdown of the AL East, High-A edition, as the Ironbirds travel to face the Hudson Valley Renegades (Yankees A+) for a 6-game set.
A- Delmarva Shorebirds
It's been a rough start to the season for manager Collin Woody and his Delmarva Shorebirds. First, they were swept in the 3-game opening series at the Fredericksburg Nationals (Nationals A-). To begin their first homestand, they proceeded to drop the next five at home against the Salem Red Sox (Red Sox A-). The bright side of this series is that they avoided being swept again by finally getting in the win column yesterday. In their 4-1 series finale win, they out-hit Salem 7-5 while the pitching held the fort down by allowing just one run and striking out 13 batters total. They only allowed one walk the entire game. Perhaps this win provides a confidence boost for this young team of new Orioles hopefuls moving forward.
Even amidst a rough 1-5 series at home vs. Salem, here are three guys who played well for the Shorebirds last week.
C Aneudis Moran: the 19-year-old catcher is nominated once again on Learning To Fly as a standout Shorebird for the week. He went 5-for-18 (.278) with his second homer of the season and 3 RBIs.
P Randy Berituge: the 6'4" right-hander appeared in 2 games for Delmarva during the opening homestand. In four innings of work, he allowed just one run while while striking out 5 batters and walking just 2.
P Riley Cooper: this 22-year old Californian had his strikeout stuff working this past week for Delmarva. He struck out 10 batters in 6.2 innings of work, holding Salem to just one run during his appearances. Given that he gave up 9 hits and allowed just one run, it shows how he is able to work out of trouble and give his offense a chance to advance
Delmarva is on the road next for a 6-game set at the Down East Wood Ducks (Rangers A-).
Kommentare