Baltimore Orioles: Baby Birds Weekly Prospect Review (August 2-8)

The month of August began with Bowie on fire and with new prospects on a mission in the Minor Leagues. Let’s go for another weekly recap.

AAA – Norfolk Tides Prospect of the Week: SS Gunnar Henderson (8-24, HR, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB)

Ladies and gentlemen: here’s the new #1 prospect per Baseball America. Besides another series loss against the Nashville Sounds (MIL affiliate), Henderson added to an already stellar 2022 season (he’s only 21!). Kyle Stowers had a nice week, too (7-21, HR, 9 RBI, .951 OPS). On the other side of things, two position players were released on Monday: IF Rylan Bannon and OF Dylan Harris. Bannon, one of five prospects from Manny Machado trade, will return to the Dodgers and might be play with other two Orioles legends like Hanser Alberto and Evan Phillips.

Even the pitching staff had cuts: RHP Marcos Diplan was surprisingly released. Speaking of surprises, DL Hall’s ups-and-downs continued last week.

Unranked to watch: OF Robert Neustrom

He leads Norfolk in OPS (.984) and stolen bases (4) last week. Can he survive the release wave?

Next series: at Rochester Red Wings (BOS affiliate)

AA – Bowie Baysox Prospect of the Week: 2B Connor Norby (11-26, 3 HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 10 R, 1.482 OPS)

Since the All-Star break, Bowie have won 11 of 13 games. They lead the Eastern League second half standings with an exceptional 24-8 record and +99 run differential. Outstanding performances by the offense in a sweep against the Harrisburg Senators (WSH affiliate) included Norby, Colton Cowser and Joseph Ortiz who had 10+ hits. Only one player finished without a hit. Unfortunately, JD Mundy was released after the series (another surprise).

One question: with the moves on Norfolk, will we see some promotions to AAA?

Unraked to watch: RHP Justin Armbruester (5.0 IP, 3 H, 6 K)

Pitching wasn’t a problem last week. Justin puts good numbers and he’ll hope for more outings like that.

Next series: at Akron RubberDucks (CLE affiliate)

High-A – Aberdeen IronBirds Prospect of the Week: LHP Cade Povich (6.0 IP, H, 8 K)

It was a week of debuts, especially for two of six players who were acquired at the trade deadline. Firstly, Chayce McDermott (Mancini trade) threw only one inning and struck out the side; rain prematurely ended his performance. Secondly, Cade Povich was stellar, nearly perfect. His dominating outing resulted in a Player of the Week Award. Aberdeen won the series against Willington (WSH affiliate), 4-2.

At the plate, Darell Hernaiz shone again. Best in hits (9), tied-1st in Runs (6) and third in OPS (1.045). A great effort from him and other familiar names: Coby Mayo made his rehab assignment and puts 7 RBI in 4 hits (all extra-base). Heston Kjerstad had more RBI (7) than hits (6).

Unranked to watch (again): 1B TT Bowens (7-22, 2B, 3 RBI, 4 R, SB)

Don’t be surprised if Bowens gets the call to Bowie.

Next series: at Hudson Valley Renegades (NYY affiliate)

Low-A – Delmarva Shorebirds Prospect of the Week: OF Mishael Deson (7-18, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 4 BB, SB, 1.056 OPS)

Unfortunately, Delmarva ‘broke’ the string of sweeps the Orioles minor league affiliates had going, as they were swept by the Augusta GreenJackets (ATL affiliate). Isaac De Leon and Luis Valdez played pretty well (both with .316 batting average), but the rest of the offense didn’t match their performances. On the mound, only Hugo Beltran and Randy Beriguete didn’t allow a run. Juan de Los Santos and Moises Chace put decent performances (7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, HR, 3 BB and 9 K combined).

Next series: vs Carolina Mudcats (MIL affiliate)