The Bowie Baysox are hitting the cover off the ball, Norfolk may have some bullpen depth for the Orioles and some of last year’s top picks have gotten off to a slow 2017. Here is the weekly minor league report for the Baltimore Orioles.
Low-A Delmarva
After hitting just .242 in 2016 for short-season Aberdeen, shortstop Chris Clare is hitting .309 this season. He already has more base hits (38) in 34 games, than he did in 47 games last season (37). Clare has also improved his defense; last season he made an error every 31.6 innings at shortstop, but this season Clare has committed one every 59.8 innings.
First baseman Preston Palmeiro and outfielder Cole Billingsley, who both hit over .250 for Aberdeen last season, are hitting below a .225 clip. Billingsley has a line of .221/.293/288, while Palmeiro is at .202/.292/.307.
Outfielder Ryan McKenna, the Orioles’ fourth-round pick in 2015, is second in the team in hits (39) and first in runs (31). A base-stealing threat, McKenna was 17-for-23 on stolen base attempts in Aberdeen last year and is 5-for-7 in 36 games thus far.
High-A Frederick
The Orioles’ No. 4 prospect, shortstop Ryan Mountcastle, is slashing a career best .344/369/.609 in his third professional season. After hitting 28 doubles and 10 home runs in 115 games for Delmarva last season, he is halfway there in doubles (14) and has hit eight home runs in 38 games this season. The 2015 first-round pick has found success off nearly everyone, hitting above .340 against both right- and left-handers.
Both the Orioles first and second round picks from 2016 have earned run averages over 4.00 in Frederick, but neither have losing records. Right-hander Cody Sedlock is 4-1 with a 4.38 ERA, while left-hander Keegan Akin is 3-3 with a 4.71 ERA. Sedlock’s K/BB (2.67) and WHIP (1.24) are slightly above Akin’s (2.1 K/BB, 1.62 WHIP).
Double-A Bowie
One of the better pitchers in the Eastern League is the Baysox’s right-hander Lucas Long, who has a 1.69 ERA and 0.97 WHIP, ranking third and second in the league. The 2014 24th-round pick has started two games, but pitched in nine.
The Baysox currently rank first in the Eastern League in team batting average (.294) and it’s not even close. Second in the league is the Altoona Curve, who are hitting .266 collectively. Bowie currently has six players on their roster who are hitting .295 or higher, those being outfielder Cedric Mullins, second baseman Garabez Rosa, catchers Austin Wynns and Audry Perez, shortstop Erick Salcedo and third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez.
Triple-A Norfolk
If the Orioles want to go to a seven man bullpen, they might not have to look far for help. Right-handed relief pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis has a 0.48 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in 18 2/3 innings in Norfolk this season. Yacabonis, along with right-hander Richard Rodriguez, are the only two Tides pitchers who have pitched at least 10 innings at Norfolk, have an ERA below three and have never made their major league debut.
The Orioles bullpen is currently 16th in MLB with a 4.09 ERA. Last season they were third with a 3.40 ERA. Each season since 2014 the Orioles have had a top-six bullpen in terms of ERA. If they want to have another elite bullpen in 2017, they might have to resort to some younger talent, even though they have already had 11 different relief pitchers take the mound in 2017.
Neither of these two pitchers are on the Orioles’ current 40-man roster, but could be at some point during the season. The Orioles have shown they are not afraid to go to the minor leagues to add some depth to their bullpen. Last season they brought up left-hander Donnie Hart directly from Bowie.
In case you missed it, click here to read our breakdown of the Orioles’ week ahead.
Jacob Troxell is a staff writer for the Baltimore Orioles for Outside Pitch MLB. Follow him on twitter @trox3.
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