No Standouts in Norfolk

Over the weekend, the Norfolk Tides lost their best bat in Steve Clevenger as he was added to the Baltimore Orioles active roster on Saturday. In 36 games playing for the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, Clevenger posted a .328 batting average with a .378 on-base percentage. In those games, he batted in 26 runs and had 13 extra base hits to his name.

Unfortunately with Clevenger gone, the Tides’ roster is now depleted of any standout who could serve as a possibility to join the Orioles active roster any time soon.  As of right now, the player with the best batting average is Ivan De Jesus, who is batting .290 on the year thus far.

Other players close behind him are Julio Borbon (batting .288), Alexi Casilla (batting .285), and Fransisco Peguero (batting .285). Steve Lombardozzi, who started off the year in Baltimore on the Orioles active roster, has since tapered off during his time in Triple-A ball. He is batting .266 in 53 games played.

Batting .266 is not bad, but when a player in the Minors is trying to make it into “the show,” mediocrity does not cut it.

Not only are there no hot bats in Norfolk, but there are no hot arms either. After Kevin Gausman left for Baltimore, the team really does not have a ace on their team.

Top prospect, Mike Wright, is having a bad year with a 1-8 record and 6.15 ERA. Korean pitcher, Suk-min Yoon, is having a tough time adjusting to the American style of play as he too is having a bad year. Yoon has a 3-7 record and 5.76 ERA. The Korean right-hander can add a shoulder impingement to the list of problems he has since making his way State-side.

If the Orioles are looking for any talent in the Minor Leagues that can help them win baseball games, might I suggest looking elsewhere because there are no standouts in Norfolk.