Baltimore Orioles: Minor League Players On The Move

In a flurry of moves, the Baltimore Orioles had a top prospect placed on the Injured List and two other prospects promoted to fill the void.

The Bowie Baysox (AA) announced on Friday that the top prospect in the Baltimore Orioles organization (per MLB Pipeline), Yusniel Diaz, was placed on the 7-day MiLB Injured List with an undisclosed injury.  Diaz had left Thursday’s game against the Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland Indians affiliate) in the home half of the eighth inning after going from first to third on an Ademar Rifaela single.  Joe Trezza of MLB.com reported that a source said Diaz was “suffering from a left hamstring strain“.

On Saturday it was announced that Frederick Keys (A-Adv.) right-fielder Zach Jarrett was promoted to Bowie to take Diaz’s spot.  In a corresponding move, Delmarva Shorebirds (A-Low) right-fielder Will Robertson was promoted to Frederick.

Jarrett, a 2017 28th-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles out of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, was hitting .306/ .393/ .444 with 16 runs scored, seven doubles, one home run and 11 RBIs for the Keys.  He was the Keys’ leader in games played (21), runs scored, doubles and walks (11).

Jarrett moves to Bowie on the heels of a hot streak that saw him bat .375/ .417/ .500 over his last nine games with seven runs scored, four extra-base hits, two RBIs and three walks.  He recorded a hit in seven of the nine games and reached base safely in eight of them.

He joins a team with a 4-17 record that is currently hitting .197/ .269/ .286 with 39 extra-base hits; hopefully, he can provide an infusion of offense.

Robertson was also a part of the Baltimore Orioles 2017 draft (30th round out of Davidson College) and goes from the best team in all of baseball (Shorebirds, 16-3) to a team (Frederick) that has a 9-12 record.  He leaves the Shorebirds after hitting .265/ .351/ .449 with nine runs scored, three doubles, two home runs, and 10 RBIs over 14 games.

I featured Robertson in an earlier piece on the Orioles organization’s early OPS leaders.  He has provided a solid contribution to the Shorebirds’ success this season.

Like Jarrett, Robertson just finished a 9-game stretch that saw him hit .324/ .385/ .559 with six runs scored, four extra-base hits (including his two home runs), 10 RBIs, and four walks.

The hope is that both players will perform well enough to force a tough decision in Bowie once Diaz is ready to come off the IL.  Both have earned this promotion and should do well in their new assignments.

I am certain no one among the fan base had these two among the first to be promoted. They are proof that there may be a few hidden gems in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system.